Wakasa Railway Abe Station Platform

A Platform With a Glass Shelter

Wakasa Railway Abe Station Platform (若桜鉄道安部駅プラットホーム, Abe-eki) is a 72-metre concrete railway platform in Kusakabe, Yazu Town, Tottori Prefecture, built in 1932 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 8 July 2008.

Abe Station opened in February 1932, about two years after the rest of the Wakasa Line. The platform lies south of the station building and is registered separately from it.

Its track-side face is three courses of granite, capped with a coping of concrete blocks. Facing the station building stands a waiting shelter lined with windows.

Why It Was Registered

The registration cites its contribution to the historic landscape, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs values the way Wakasa Railway Abe Station Platform and the building together form a historic railway scene.

Stone sides and a concrete coping are the early Shōwa formula seen at other stations on the line. With its shelter still in place, the platform keeps the full arrangement of a small wayside station of the period.

What to Look For

The shelter is the eye-catcher. Its south side is open, and the other three sides carry continuous glazing above waist height, so from the bench you look out over the track and the fields beyond.

From the platform edge you can make out the three granite courses below. Notice too how the shelter and the station building face each other across a little distance; the pair make the scene. According to the railway, the platform has also been used as a film location.

Visiting

Wakasa Railway Abe 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. Use the station path between the building and the platform rather than crossing the rails.

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