Wakasa Railway Hatto Station Platform

A Platform Set Apart From Its Station

Wakasa Railway Hatto Station Platform (若桜鉄道八東駅プラットホーム, Hattō-eki) is a concrete railway platform in Saidai, Yazu Town, Tottori Prefecture, built in 1930 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 8 July 2008.

It covers 389 square metres, lies northwest of the station building, and is registered separately from it. At Hattō the platform does not run along the front of the building; instead its east end slopes down as a ramp to meet it.

The track-side face is stone. In the middle of the platform stands a waiting shelter 8.2 metres long and 2.0 metres deep.

Why It Was Registered

The registration cites its contribution to the historic landscape. Wakasa Railway Hatto Station Platform came into use with the opening of the whole line in December 1930, and its stone side and ramp record how the station was laid out from the start.

The shelter is later, built in 1954. Its east end is open, its western half has doors at both ends, and it is glazed above waist height all round. Taken together, platform and shelter show a station tidied up and added to over the decades.

What to Look For

Start with the shelter at the centre of Wakasa Railway Hatto Station Platform: an open east end for a quick wait, a closable west end for bad weather, and glass everywhere, so the interior stays bright.

Then look at the ramp to the station building. At Tampi and Inaba-Funaoka the building and platform are one piece; at Hattō they are set apart and joined by this slope. According to the railway, a passing loop came into use at Hattō in 2020.

Visiting

Wakasa Railway Hatto Station Platform is in daily use, so the shelter and platform are open as for any passenger. The track is off limits, and there is no stepping down onto it.

Take photographs without getting in the way of passengers or trains. Travel to the station and tickets are covered on the Wakasa Railway page.