A Cobble Platform under a Canopy of Old Rails
The Tobu Railway Shin-Takatoku Station Platform and Canopy (東武鉄道新高徳駅プラットホーム及び上家) is a railway platform with its canopy of 1929 in Shin-Takatoku Station in Takatoku, Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on October 27, 2017 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a stone platform 125 metres long and a steel-framed, slate-roofed canopy with a building area of 136 square metres, altered between 1960 and 1964 and again between 1965 and 1974; registration number 09-242.
Rebuilt for a Change of Gauge
The Tobu Railway Shin-Takatoku Station Platform and Canopy was built when the Shimotsuke Electric Railway changed the gauge of the line between Shimo-Imaichi and Shin-Takatoku and of its Yaita Line, and rebuilt Shin-Takatoku Station (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The Yaita Line ran from this station to Yaita on the national Tohoku Main Line; it opened throughout on October 22, 1929 and closed in 1959 (Tobu Railway).
The platform is a 125-metre tamaishi-zumi earth-fill structure, an earth bank faced with rounded river cobbles. The canopy over it is framed in old rails, and in the original part the ends of the beams carry circular ornaments (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Why It Was Registered
The Agency values the Tobu Railway Shin-Takatoku Station Platform and Canopy as a structure that records the modernisation of the district, and registered it under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country.
What to Look For
At the Tobu Railway Shin-Takatoku Station Platform and Canopy, look up first. The profile of the old rails used for posts and beams, and the circular ornaments at the beam ends of the original part, are details not found at the other registered stations on the line.
At 125 metres it is the longest of the 5 registered platforms on the Kinugawa Line (from the Agency's records), a length that reflects the station's past as the junction for the Yaita Line.
Visiting
The Tobu Railway Shin-Takatoku Station Platform and Canopy is part of a working station and is seen when using the trains; no special opening or tours were found.
Shin-Takatoku is the 3rd station on the Kinugawa Line after Shimo-Imaichi, following Okuwa (Tobu Railway). No official Tobu Railway guidance on photography was found; on the platform, keep clear of train operations and other passengers. Directions and the other registered structures along the line are gathered on the Tobu Railway Kinugawa Line page.
Q&A
- When was the Tobu Railway Shin-Takatoku Station Platform and Canopy built?
- In 1929, when the Shimotsuke Electric Railway rebuilt Shin-Takatoku Station as part of a change of gauge (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What is the canopy of the Tobu Railway Shin-Takatoku Station Platform and Canopy?
- The roof over the platform: a steel frame of old rails under slate, with a building area of 136 square metres (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What should I look for at the Tobu Railway Shin-Takatoku Station Platform and Canopy?
- The frame of old rails, the circular ornaments at the beam ends of the original part, and the 125-metre cobble-faced platform (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Where is the Tobu Railway Shin-Takatoku Station Platform and Canopy?
- At Shin-Takatoku Station on the Tobu Kinugawa Line, 465 Takatoku, Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture, the 3rd station after Shimo-Imaichi (Tobu Railway).
- When was the Tobu Railway Shin-Takatoku Station Platform and Canopy registered?
- On October 27, 2017 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Tobu Railway Shin-Takatoku Station Platform and Canopy (東武鉄道新高徳駅プラットホーム及び上家) |
|---|---|
| Location | 465 Takatoku, Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2017/10/27 (Heisei 29) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Platform: stone, length 125 m / Canopy: steel frame, slate roof, building area 136 m² |
| Owner | Tobu Railway Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Working station facility, seen when using the trains |
References
- Tobu Railway Shin-Takatoku Station Platform and Canopy (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00011870
- Tobu Railway Shin-Takatoku Station Platform and Canopy (Cultural Heritage Online, Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/223237
- Shin-Takatoku Station (Tobu Railway, Japanese)
- https://www.tobu.co.jp/railway/guide/station/info/4204.html
- History of steam locomotives along the Kinugawa Line (Tobu Railway, Japanese)
- https://www.tobu.co.jp/sl/more/history/
Last verified: 2026.11.11
