A Compact Light-Railway Depot
The Hojo Railway Harima-Shimosato Station Building and Platform (北条鉄道播磨下里駅本屋及びプラットホーム, Harima-Shimosato-eki) is a timber station built in 1918 with a stone-faced platform in Ojicho, Kasai City, Hyogo Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on April 25, 2014.
Harima-Shimosato sits 8.0 kilometers from Ao, between Hokkeguchi and Osa. Kasai City and Hojo Railway both give the station's opening year as 1917, one year before the 1918 date the Agency for Cultural Affairs assigns to the building. Published sources do not say whether the building followed the opening by a year or whether the records simply disagree.
Entered from the Gable End
According to the agency, the Harima-Shimosato Station Building is a single-story timber structure; measured in traditional Ken bays, it is 6 ken long by 2 ken deep and is entered from the gable end in the Tsumairi manner. A passenger canopy 1 and a half ken wide projects from the south side. The roof is part tile, part slate, and the building area is 49 square meters, the smallest of the three registered station buildings.
The stations at Hokkeguchi and Osa both face the street with their long side. Harima-Shimosato alone turns its gable toward you, so the line's three surviving early depots, built within a few years of each other, do not share a single type.
The stone platform runs 53 meters. The agency registered the pair (registration number 28-0591) as part of the historic landscape, singling out the compact plan of the building and describing it as an example of a station built under Japan's Light Railway Act, the law that let small regional lines be laid to simpler standards.
What to Look For
Standing in front, you face the triangle of the gable rather than a long eaves line, which looks unexpected if you have just come from Hokkeguchi. The canopy on the south side has sheltered waiting passengers for a century.
Hojo Railway notes a rock garden on the platform built around a 40-tonne stone. A Kinki District Transport Bureau document dates it, along with a new toilet, to August 2012, so treat it as a recent addition beside the registered masonry platform.
According to the railway, two volunteer stationmasters hold a drawing club and a small salon in the waiting room twice a month. Hikers also use Harima-Shimosato as the starting point for Mount Zenbo, Mount Kasamatsu and the Kobokke nature park.
Visiting
The Hojo Railway Harima-Shimosato Station Building and Platform is a working station, and passengers can enter both the building and the platform. The railway's station page lists a free car park in front; there are no steps, though there is no ramp.
Photograph the platform only when it will not get in the way of trains or passengers.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Hyogo
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Hojo Railway Harima-Shimosato Station Building and Platform
- [ Himeji Castle & Kobe Night View Cruise ]
Q&A
- When was the Hojo Railway Harima-Shimosato Station Building built?
- The national record gives 1918. Kasai City and the railway date the station's opening to 1917. It was registered on April 25, 2014.
- How does the Harima-Shimosato Station Building differ from the other registered stations?
- It is entered from the gable end, while Hokkeguchi and Osa are entered from the long side. At 49 square meters it is also the smallest of the three.
- How long is the platform at Harima-Shimosato Station?
- The stone platform is 53 meters long.
- Can I visit the Hojo Railway Harima-Shimosato Station Building and Platform?
- Yes. It is an active station open to passengers, with a free car park in front.
- Is the rock garden on the Harima-Shimosato platform part of the registered property?
- No. The rock garden was added in 2012; the registration covers the station building and the masonry platform.
Basic Information
| Name | Hojo Railway Harima-Shimosato Station Building and Platform |
|---|---|
| Location | 152-1 Nonaka, Ojicho, Kasai City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2014/4/25 (Heisei 26) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Station building: single-story timber, tile and slate roof, building area 49 square meters; platform: stone, 53 meters long |
| Owner | Hojo Railway Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Active station; building and platform open to passengers |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Cultural Heritage Database: Hojo Railway Harima-Shimosato Station Building and Platform
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00010026
- Kasai City, Koho Kasai, December 2013 (in Japanese)
- https://www.city.kasai.hyogo.jp/uploaded/attachment/6157.pdf
- Kinki District Transport Bureau, Hojo Railway Revitalization Efforts, December 11, 2015 (in Japanese)
- https://wwwtb.mlit.go.jp/kinki/content/000010178.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.08
