Shinano-kawada Station
After seeing Matsushiro Station, I also came to check Shinano-kawada Station.
When Matsushiro Station is demolished, this will be the only station building left on the former Yashiro Line.
Here, too, the station building is used as a waiting room for buses.
The Yashiro Line of Nagano Dentetsu was discontinued on March 31, 2012, and the Yashiro-Suzaka Line bus service replaced the railroad service. The station is used as a bus stop for this bus service.
A photo of the station building taken in 2009 is currently posted on Wikipedia. It shows that the roof has rusted to brown. Now it is painted green, so it seems that the building is being taken care of.
The track is still there, though it is about 50 to 60 meters long beside the platform.
This photo was taken from the opposite direction of the photo above. The rails have been cut off at this crossing.
The original plan was to store rolling stock here and develop a “Yashiro Line Train Memorial Park".
At one time, eight or nine cars were stored (or left) here, but they were not cared for and corrosion progressed; a few cars were transferred around 2014-15, and the rest were dismantled at the site by 2019.
The following table shows the utilization plan for each station listed in the “Chikuma River New Road Revitalization Plan – Basic Concept for Utilization of Nagano Electric Railway’s Former Yashiro Line” announced by Nagano City in December 2012.
| Station Zone | Station Building | Platform | Toilet | Bicycle parking | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watauchi | Utilization (Earthquake resistance diagnosis) | Utilization on one side | New construction | Utilization | * Construction of a multipurpose plaza * Construction of a bus rotary * Construction of a parking lot for the park and bus ride |
| Wakaho | Removal | Removal | Removal | Utilization | * Construction of a parking lot for the park and bus ride |
| Shinano-kawada | Utilization (Earthquake resistance diagnosis) | Utilization on one side | New construction | Utilization | ・トレインメモリアルパーク ・多目的広場整備 ・パークアンドバスライド用駐車場整備 |
| Omuro | Removal | Removal | Removal | New construction | |
| Kanaiyama | Removal | Removal | New construction | Utilization | * Rest area on bicycle and promenade path * Construction of a parking lot for the park and bus ride |
| Matsushiro | Utilization (Earthquake resistance diagnosis) | Utilization on one side | Existing | Existing | * Construction of a parking lot |
| Zozanguchi | Removal | Removal | Removal | New construction | |
| Iwano | Removal | Removal | Removal | New construction |
However, things did not go according to plan. Watauchi Station has already been demolished, Matsushiro Station has been decided to be demolished, the memorial park at Shinano-kawada Station is no longer planned, and the bicycle trail has not been developed. Unfortunately, the abandoned railway tracks are not being fully utilized.
That said, the station building itself is actually used as a waiting area for buses, and we can go inside.
On the wall, timetables and fares from the time when the Yashiro Line was in use still remain.
A part of the wall is used as a mini-gallery. Under the photos, there is a sign that reads, “Evacuate outside in case of earthquake!" It is likely that the building was inspected for earthquake resistance, but no reinforcement work was done.
A photo of Kato Railway’s Machi-kawada Station under construction was also displayed, taken in May 1922. This station was first called “Machi-kawada Station” and was renamed “Shinano-kawada Station” the following year.
When the Yashiro Line was in operation, fares were 390 yen to Suzaka Station and 580 yen to Yashiro Station.
The black hole (arrow) in the ceiling are said to be bullet hole from machine gun fire by the U.S. military on the station and Kawada Elementary School on August 13, 1945. An explanation was posted on the wall.
The post was made by the “Kawada Town Development Executive Committee". The contents indicate that the postings were made after the Yashiro Line was discontinued, so the waiting room must have been maintained and managed by local residents.
I was curious to know how the building was maintained and managed. Then I found a document titled “2022 Project for the Maintaining and Improving the Historic Interests of the City of Nagano”, and it seems to be a summary of the progress of the project from 2013 to 2023.
There is a page titled “Project for Preservation and Utilization of Former Shinano-kawada Station (Transportation Policy Division)”.
I was surprised to read the following in the plan.
“In Kawada-juku, there is a lack of facilities to convey the history and culture of the area, and the historical townscape is located away from the main street, so there is a lack of information about the historical townscape. This project aims to renovate the interior and exterior of the former Nagano Dentetsu Yashiro Line Shinano-kawada Station, one of Kawada’s historical buildings built in 1922, in order to utilize it as a museum that conveys the history of Kawada-juku and as an information center for visitors to the area."
Did they have plan to turn it into a museum? Really? Is that separate from Train Memorial Park?
Actually, Nagano City has already announced the “Nagano City Historical Landscape Maintenance and Improvement Plan Phase 2” (March 2024). (March 2024)
When I checked that, I found that the “Former Shinano-kawada Station Preservation and Utilization Project” is still an ongoing project.
However, the text has changed significantly.
“We will support the local residents to utilize the former Shinano-kawada Station of Nagano Electric Railway’s Yashiro Line, which was built in 1922, on their own initiative."
That is all. This sentence suggests that Nagano City has left everything about the utilization of the station building to the local community. Of course, there is no mention of a museum.
Speaking of facility management…
It seems that Nagano City has outsourced the cleaning of the toilets to a contractor, but maybe it was because of the holidays, but it was just amazing (in a bad way). I can’t use the toilets like that.
Near the restroom, there is an explanatory board erected in 2022.
It is said that 21 information boards were erected at historical sites around this area. The location of the information boards is shown on the map here.
The information boards were erected by the Wakaho Local Autonomy Council and the Wakaho Local History Study Group, so it seems that there are local activities to make use of not only the station building but also other historical assets.
I hope they come up with some good ideas for the utilization of the Shinano-kawada Station Building.
[Reference] (written in Japanese)
“Nagano City Historical Landscape Maintenance and Improvement Plan (Phase 2)” (Nagano City website / updated April 2025)