The Kiryu-Bound Platform at Sori
The Watarase Keikoku Railway Sori Station Up Platform and Waiting Shelter (わたらせ渓谷鐵道沢入駅上り線プラットホーム及び待合所) is a stone up platform and timber waiting shelter of Sori Station dating from 1912 and 1929 at Sori, Azuma-cho, Midori City, Gunma Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on November 2, 2009 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a stone platform 79 metres long and a single-storey timber waiting shelter with a tiled roof and a building area of 9.9 square metres, registration number 10-0280.
The Ashio Copper Railway
According to Watarase Keikoku Railway, the Ashio copper mine, bought by Furukawa Ichibei in 1877, grew to produce half of Japan's copper, more than horses and a horse tramway could carry, so a railway was built from Kiryu to Ashio. The Ashio Railway opened to Omama in 1911, reached Ashio in December 1912 and was completed to Ashio Honzan in 1914. Nationalised in 1918 as the Ashio Line, it has been run by Watarase Keikoku Railway since 1989.
According to Watarase Keikoku Railway, Sori Station opened with the Godo to Sori section in November 1912. The Watarase Keikoku Railway Sori Station Up Platform and Waiting Shelter lies about 1,050 metres south-west of the Nagoshi Tunnel (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Value as a Registered Cultural Property
The Watarase Keikoku Railway Sori Station Up Platform and Waiting Shelter was registered as a structure contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records that the trackside wall, 69 centimetres above the track bed, keeps its original form.
What to Look For
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes a 79-metre stone platform ramped at both ends with mortared trackside walls, and at its centre a gabled timber shelter 5.5 by 1.8 metres roofed in cement tiles.
Watarase Keikoku Railway's pamphlet notes that the Watarase Keikoku Railway Sori Station Up Platform and Waiting Shelter serves Kiryu-bound trains, has walls of irregular split stone and has been in use since the Ashio Railway opened; its shelter, numbered 1, was built in 1929.
Visiting
The Watarase Keikoku Railway Sori Station Up Platform and Waiting Shelter can be seen when using Sori Station. Watarase Keikoku Railway notes that all of its registered structures can be seen from the train.
Do not enter the tracks; view it from the train, the station or nearby roads. It is located at 965-2 Sori, Azuma-cho, Midori City, Gunma Prefecture, and other lots. Of the line's 38 registered structures, the 26 in Gunma and 11 in Tochigi are gathered on the group pages Watarase Keikoku Railway (Gunma Section) and Watarase Keikoku Railway (Tochigi Section).
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Q&A
- When was it built?
- The platform in 1912 and the shelter in 1929 (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Watarase Keikoku Railway).
- How is it built?
- A stone platform 79 metres long and a single-storey timber waiting shelter with a tiled roof and a building area of 9.9 square metres (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What number is the shelter?
- It is No. 1, built in 1929 (Watarase Keikoku Railway).
- Where can it be seen?
- The Watarase Keikoku Railway Sori Station Up Platform and Waiting Shelter can be seen when using Sori Station.
- When was the Watarase Keikoku Railway Sori Station Up Platform and Waiting Shelter registered?
- On November 2, 2009.
Basic Information
| Name | Watarase Keikoku Railway Sori Station Up Platform and Waiting Shelter (わたらせ渓谷鐵道沢入駅上り線プラットホーム及び待合所) |
|---|---|
| Location | 965-2 Sori, Azuma-cho, Midori City, Gunma Prefecture, and other lots |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2009/11/02 (Heisei 21) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Platform: stone, length 79 metres; shelter: timber, single storey, tiled roof, building area 9.9 square metres |
| Owner | Not listed in the national database (line operated by Watarase Keikoku Railway Co., Ltd.) |
| Public Access | Visible when using the station or from the train |
References
- Watarase Keikoku Railway Sori Station Up Platform and Waiting Shelter (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00007853
- Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Watarase Keikoku Railway, in Japanese)
- https://www.watetsu.com/sightseeing/culture.php
- Pamphlet: Railway Heritage from the Train Window, map notes (Watarase Keikoku Railway, in Japanese)
- https://www.watetsu.com/assets/pdf/sightseeing/culture_yukei_des05.pdf
- History (Watarase Keikoku Railway, in Japanese)
- https://www.watetsu.com/company/history.php
Last verified: 2026.10.12
