A Turntable at the Cradle of Shikoku's Railways
Steam once needed somewhere to turn. At the southwestern corner of JR Tadotsu Station, a steel turntable still pivots inside a circular pit lined with granite. Built in 1950, its girder spans about 19 meters, long enough to carry a locomotive and swing it end for end so it could face back the way it came.
Tadotsu is where railways in Shikoku began. The Sanuki Railway opened its line between Marugame and Kotohira in 1889, and a car repair shop established here grew into the only rolling-stock works that JR Shikoku operates today. The turntable sits within that living railway landscape, a piece of steam-age engineering that has outlasted the engines it once served.
Why It Is Registered
What sets this turntable apart lies underfoot. Most surviving turntables rest in pits of concrete. Here the pit is stone, 18.5 meters across and 0.8 meters deep, its walls built up from cut granite ashlar and finished along the upper rim with a course of coping stones. Pits of this kind have become scarce across Japan.
The span above is a steel deck-type girder of the balanced pattern, carried by a central bearing and by wheels that run on a rail at each end. In 2012 the turntable joined the national register of tangible cultural properties under the criterion set aside for structures that cannot easily be recreated, a category that recognizes materials and workmanship hard to reproduce now.
What to Notice, and How to See It
Stand at the rim and the interest is in the masonry: the even coursing of the granite, the worn coping, the quiet geometry of a full circle cut into the ground.
The turntable belongs to a working railway site rather than a museum, so casual entry is not possible. The best chance to see the grounds and their structures up close comes on the annual open day known as Kisha Poppo Matsuri, held around Railway Day each October, when a shuttle train runs from Tadotsu Station into the works. Group visits can sometimes be arranged in advance. Schedules shift from year to year, so it is worth checking with JR Shikoku before a trip. For related rolling stock on permanent display, the Shikoku Railway Cultural Center in Saijo, Ehime, pairs well with a visit to the area.
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Q&A
- What makes the Tadotsu turntable unusual?
- Its pit is built of cut granite rather than the concrete used in most surviving turntables, and stone pits of this size have become rare in Japan.
- When was it built and registered?
- The steel turntable dates from 1950 and was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in August 2012.
- Can visitors see it?
- It stands within an active JR Shikoku railway site and is not open for casual visits, though the works opens to the public once a year around Railway Day in October.
- How large is it?
- The girder spans about 19 meters and turns within a stone pit 18.5 meters across and 0.8 meters deep.
Basic Information
| Name | JR Tadotsu Station Turntable |
|---|---|
| Location | 3-Kō 352-3 and others, Sakae-machi, Tadotsu, Nakatado District, Kagawa |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), registered 13 August 2012 |
| Registration No. | 37-0383 |
| Count | 1 unit |
| Built | 1950 (Shōwa 25) |
| Structure | Steel turntable, 19 m diameter; stone pit of granite ashlar, 18.5 m diameter and 0.8 m deep |
| Owner | Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku) |
| Access | Active railway site, not open to casual visitors; annual public open day around October |
References
- 国指定文化財等データベース（文化庁）
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009387
- 文化遺産オンライン 香川県・仲多度郡多度津町
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/region/37/37404
Last verified: 2026.07.03