What Is the Former Katakami Railway Kichigahara Station Building?
The Former Katakami Railway Kichigahara Station Building is a single-storey timber station built in 1931 in Kichigahara, Misaki Town, Okayama Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on March 2, 2006.
In Japanese the name is written 旧片上鉄道吉ヶ原駅駅舎 (Kyū Katakami Tetsudō Kichigahara-eki Ekisha). The place name trips up many readers, Japanese included: it is Kichigahara, not Yoshigahara, and local signs often spell it 吉ケ原 with a large ケ.
The Katakami Railway was founded in 1919 to haul pyrite from the Yanahara mine down the Yoshii River valley to the port of Katakami on the Inland Sea. The line reached its northern terminus at Yanahara in 1931, and Kichigahara, one stop short of the end, opened on that final stretch from Bizen-Yada. Passengers rode the trains as well as ore. The railway closed in 1991, yet the station survived and now serves as the entrance to Yanahara Fureai Mine Park, laid out on the former station yard. Misaki Town owns the building.
Why the Kichigahara Station Building Was Registered
The Former Katakami Railway Kichigahara Station Building carries registration number 33-0105 under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs explains the building through its massing. A long east-west block, nine bays by two and a half, sits under a Kirizuma-zukuri gable roof clad in sheet metal. Over the waiting room at the west end, a second, much steeper gable runs north to south, crossing the main ridge at a right angle, and a Geya lean-to canopy shelters the platform side. The agency also notes, unusually for an official description, that people know it fondly as "the old station with the pointed roof."
According to Okayama Prefecture, Kichigahara was more than a wayside halt. It housed a train-operations sub-depot, with lodging for crews and a timber engine shed. Those buildings are gone. The prefecture describes the station building itself as standing much as it did when the line opened, and in good condition. At 114 square meters, it is a modest structure.
What to See at Kichigahara Station
The pointed roof over the waiting room
Step back from the Kichigahara station building and the whole design reads at once: a low, stretched-out roof, and at one end a sharp triangular gable rising above the waiting room. That contrast between the long horizontal block and the tall, narrow peak is the reason the station has been a local landmark for decades.
Waiting room, ticket gate and platform
Visitors can walk inside. The Okayama tourism board describes the waiting room as preserved in its original state, with a stone-built ticket barrier, a wooden station nameboard and benches on the platform. Pass through the barrier and stand under the platform canopy, and its job of keeping waiting passengers dry becomes obvious.
Preserved rolling stock beyond the platform
Misaki Town says that eleven freight wagons and passenger cars are kept on the tracks of the former yard. From the platform of the Former Katakami Railway Kichigahara Station Building they line up as if waiting for a departure signal. The town also bills the station as the place where Japan's "stationmaster cat" custom began, a light footnote to a serious industrial history.
Visiting the Former Katakami Railway Kichigahara Station Building
The station building is the gateway to Yanahara Fureai Mine Park, and there is no charge to see it. The Yanahara Mine Museum at the back of the park opens from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (last admission 4:30 p.m.) and closes on Mondays (or the following day when Monday is a public holiday) and from December 28 to January 4. Museum admission is 520 yen for adults (high school age and up) and 310 yen for elementary and junior high students; inside are full-scale reconstructions of mine galleries and of daily life in the mining town. Plan your visit for a day when the museum is open, even if the station is your main interest.
Until recently, the preserved trains ran on the first Sunday of each month. Misaki Town reports that these runs are suspended, with no date set for their return. The park does not publish photography rules for the Kichigahara station building; just be mindful of other visitors in your frame.
By bus, take the Chutetsu Bus from JR Tsuyama Station to the Kichigahara stop, about 40 minutes; the station is right beside the stop. By car, allow about 30 minutes from JR Tsuyama Station or from the Mimasaka interchange on the Chugoku Expressway. The park has a car park. The old railway bed has been turned into the Katatetsu Romance Kaido cycling and walking path, and the park at Kichigahara is one of its end points.
Q&A
- How do you pronounce Kichigahara in the Former Katakami Railway Kichigahara Station Building?
- It is "Kee-chee-ga-ha-ra." The characters 吉ヶ原 could also be read Yoshigahara, but the Agency for Cultural Affairs and local usage both give Kichigahara. Bus stops and maps often write it 吉ケ原.
- Can you go inside the Kichigahara station building, and is there a fee?
- Yes. The building is the entrance to Yanahara Fureai Mine Park, and its waiting room, ticket gate and platform are free to see. The neighboring Yanahara Mine Museum charges 520 yen for adults, opens 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and closes on Mondays (the next day after a Monday holiday) and over the New Year period.
- How do I get to the Former Katakami Railway Kichigahara Station Building?
- Take the Chutetsu Bus from JR Tsuyama Station to the Kichigahara stop, about 40 minutes; the station is next to the stop. By car it is about 30 minutes from Tsuyama Station or the Mimasaka interchange, and the park has parking.
- Do trains still run at the Kichigahara station building?
- Not at present. The monthly first-Sunday runs of the preserved trains are suspended, and Misaki Town has not announced when they will resume. The eleven preserved wagons and coaches remain on view.
- When was the Former Katakami Railway Kichigahara Station Building built and registered?
- It was built in 1931, when the line was extended to Yanahara, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 2, 2006, under number 33-0105.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Katakami Railway Kichigahara Station Building (旧片上鉄道吉ヶ原駅駅舎) |
|---|---|
| Location | 432-1 Kichigahara, Misaki-cho, Kume-gun, Okayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered March 2, 2006 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber building, sheet-metal roof, building area 114 square meters |
| Owner | Misaki Town |
| Public Access | Open (entrance to Yanahara Fureai Mine Park; interior can be viewed; free) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Former Katakami Railway Kichigahara Station Building
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005359
- Cultural Heritage Online (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Former Katakami Railway Kichigahara Station Building
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/118437
- Okayama Prefecture: Former Katakami Railway Kichigahara Station Building (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.pref.okayama.jp/uploaded/attachment/260983.pdf
- Misaki Town: Yanahara Fureai Mine Park (Japanese)
- https://www.town.okayama-misaki.lg.jp/kakuka/sangyokanko/gyomu/1/1/656.html
- Misaki Town: Camera Girls on the Katakami Railway (Japanese)
- https://www.town.okayama-misaki.lg.jp/section/cameragirls/
- Yanahara Fureai Mine Park and Yanahara Mine Museum (Japanese)
- https://yanahara-fkk.com/
- Okayama Kanko Web: Retro station and mining-town reconstructions in Misaki (Japanese)
- https://www.okayama-kanko.jp/okatabi/886/page
- Okayama Kanko Web: Yanahara Fureai Mine Park and Yanahara Mine Museum (Japanese)
- https://www.okayama-kanko.jp/spot/11879
- Tsuyama Kawaraban: Former Katakami Railway Kichigahara Station Building (Japanese)
- https://www.e-tsuyama.com/report/2018/02/post-1506.html
Last verified: 2026.10.02