What Is the Echigo Tokimeki Railway Nihongi Station Warehouse?
The Echigo Tokimeki Railway Nihongi Station Warehouse (えちごトキめき鉄道二本木駅倉庫) is a single-storey timber storehouse built in 1910 in the grounds of Nihongi Station, Itabashi, Nakago Ward, Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on September 10, 2019. It held the station's equipment and supplies, covers 20 square meters, and was renovated in the 1975 to 1984 period.
It stands south of the station building, facing west, with the lamp shed beyond it. Since the station opened in 1911, the Nihongi Station Warehouse, like the station building and lamp shed, went up the year before the first trains called.
Why It Was Registered
The Nihongi Station Warehouse was registered on September 10, 2019, in the 93rd round of listings, as No. 15-501, under the criterion of a structure that contributes to the historic landscape of the country.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs presents it as an ancillary building that shows how the station was put together when it opened. On its own it is easy to overlook, but with all three buildings of 1910 still standing, you can see what a station of that date needed in order to run.
Board Walls and a King Post Truss
The Echigo Tokimeki Railway Nihongi Station Warehouse has a gabled roof (Kirizuma-zukuri) in metal sheeting. Its walls were originally clad in vertical boards, which, according to the Agency, are now protected by a skin of steel sheet, a practical fix that keeps the timber out of the snow and wind and a sign that the building has stayed in use.
A single door opens at the centre of the front, and each side wall has windows set high up. The floor is mortar. The roof is framed with a King post truss, a triangular Western-style frame with a central post carrying the ridge. Using a truss of this kind on a hut of barely 20 square meters hints at how standardised Meiji railway construction had become.
Visiting
The Nihongi Station Warehouse is still railway property, and its interior is not open. You see it from the station grounds, standing just south of the station building. The arrangement of high windows and central door reads best when you look at the west-facing front at an angle.
With the lamp shed right next door, you can compare the timber store with the brick oil store side by side. This is operating railway land, so keep clear of the tracks and out of the way of trains.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Niigata
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Echigo Tokimeki Railway Nihongi Station Warehouse
- [ Sado Island & Echigo-Yuzawa Ski Resort Tours ]
Q&A
- When was the Echigo Tokimeki Railway Nihongi Station Warehouse built?
- In 1910, the year before the station opened. It was renovated in the 1975 to 1984 period.
- What was the Nihongi Station Warehouse used for?
- Storing the station's equipment and supplies. The Agency for Cultural Affairs values it as an ancillary building that shows how the station was organised when it opened.
- When did the Nihongi Station Warehouse become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- On September 10, 2019, as No. 15-501, under the criterion of a structure that contributes to the historic landscape of the country.
- How is the Nihongi Station Warehouse built?
- It has a gabled metal roof and board walls now protected with steel sheet, high windows on both sides, a mortar floor, and a king post truss roof frame.
- Can visitors go inside the Echigo Tokimeki Railway Nihongi Station Warehouse?
- No, the interior is closed. The exterior can be seen just south of the station building. Nihongi Station is about 16 minutes from Joetsu-Myoko by the Myoko Haneuma Line.
Basic Information
| Name | Echigo Tokimeki Railway Nihongi Station Warehouse (えちごトキめき鉄道二本木駅倉庫) |
|---|---|
| Location | 543-2 Nishiura, Itabashi, Nakago Ward, Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), No. 15-501 |
| Year Designated | Registered September 10, 2019 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber, metal roof, building area 20 square meters |
| Owner | Echigo Tokimeki Railway Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Exterior only (interior closed) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Echigo Tokimeki Railway Nihongi Station Warehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00012886
- Cultural Heritage Online: Echigo Tokimeki Railway Nihongi Station Warehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/379884
- Line guide: Myoko Haneuma Line (Echigo Tokimeki Railway, in Japanese)
- https://www.echigo-tokimeki.co.jp/guide/haneuma-line/
Last verified: 2026.09.28
