A building that changed its job
Exhibition Hall No.1 sits immediately south of the main building, facing west toward the forecourt. It is single-storey timber, 21 metres by 10 metres, under a gabled tile roof, and it takes up 188 square metres. Like the rest of the station it goes back to 1922.
What sets it apart is its history of use. The hall was not built as an exhibition space at all. It began life as Passenger Shelter No.3, put up to handle group travellers, the tour parties who came to Kotohira by the trainload for the shrine. Later it was enclosed with outer walls and converted into a display hall, and that is the form it keeps today.
Why the change matters
A registered cultural property does not have to be frozen. This building was entered on the national register in 2012, with the other four station structures, under the criterion for contributing to the historic landscape. It earns its place partly because it shows how a station adapts its rooms as travel habits shift.
The bones of the original shelter remain legible beneath the later walls. Set beside the main building, it helps make up the front composition of the station and the retro character of the approach that visitors first see when they arrive at Kotohira.
What to look for
Read it as a before-and-after. The gabled roof and the timber frame belong to the open shelter of 1922; the walls that turn it into an enclosed hall came later. The join between the two tells the story without a caption.
Then step back and see it in company. The hall, the main building beside it, the long platform canopies and the steel bridge beyond all belong to one moment of railway building, and No.1 is the quiet piece that records how the station kept working by changing what its spaces were for.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Kagawa
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near JR Kotohira Station Display Room No. 1
- [ Naoshima Art Island & Kotohiragu Shrine Visit ]
Q&A
- What was this building originally?
- It began as Passenger Shelter No.3, built for group travellers. It was later enclosed with walls and converted into an exhibition hall, which is its present form.
- How big is it?
- It is single-storey timber, 21 metres by 10 metres, with a gabled tile roof, covering about 188 square metres.
- Why register a converted building?
- A registered property can carry its history of change. This hall shows how a station adapts its spaces as travel habits shift, and it forms part of the station's front composition.
- When does it date from?
- The structure dates from 1922 (Taisho 11); it was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property on 13 August 2012 (reg. no. 37-0379).
- Can you go inside?
- It is a working part of the station precinct rather than a general tourist attraction. From outside you can still read the original shelter frame beneath the later walls.
Basic Information
| Name | JR Kotohira Station Exhibition Hall No.1 (ＪＲ琴平駅陳列所一号) |
|---|---|
| Location | 860 Yokose, Enai, Kotohira-cho, Nakatado-gun, Kagawa (香川県仲多度郡琴平町榎井字横瀬860) |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property, registered 13 Aug 2012 (reg. no. 37-0379) |
| Date | 1922 (Taisho 11) |
| Structure | Single-storey timber, gabled tile roof; 21 m by 10 m; floor area 188 m²; originally Passenger Shelter No.3 |
| Owner | Shikoku Railway Company / JR Shikoku (四国旅客鉄道株式会社) |
| Access | Immediately south of the main building at Kotohira Station |
References
- 国指定文化財等データベース — ＪＲ琴平駅陳列所一号
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00009383
- 四国旅客鉄道（JR四国）
- https://www.jr-shikoku.co.jp/
- Wikipedia — 琴平駅
- https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%90%B4%E5%B9%B3%E9%A7%85
Last verified: 2026.07.05