Yamashina Station (山科駅)
Yamashina Station, located in Ueno Goshonouchi-cho, Yamashina Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, is a stop of the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and the Kyoto Municipal Subway. Because the (JR) Kosei Line starts at Yamashina Station, there is a distance post indicating zero at the station.
Lines
West Japan Railway Company (JR West)
Tokaido Main Line (Biwako Line)
Kosei Line * Although the Kosei Line officially starts at Yamashina Station, for the operation of the system all trains enter Kyoto Station and to the west.
Kyoto Municipal Subway, Tozai Line (T07)
Other than the above lines, passengers can transfer to the following:
Keihan Electric Railway - Keihan Yamashina Station
Keihan Keishin Line (Otsu Line)
Yamashina Station, of the West Japan Railway Company, is included in the Urban Network area.
ICOCA (West Japan Railway Company) and PiTaPa (SURUTTO KANSAI ASSOCIATION) can be used at Yamashina Station of both the West Japan Railway Company and the Kyoto Municipal Subway, while J-Through/Suica/TOICA can only be used at Yamashina Station of the West Japan Railway Company, and KANSAI THRU PASS cards and Traffica Kyoto Card can only be used at Yamashina Station of the Kyoto Municipal Subway.
JR
Yamashina Station has an island platform comprising two platforms that serve four tracks, and it is adaptable to a train twelve cars in length. There is one ticket gate facing south. Just next to the ticket gate is an entrance to stairs leading to Yamashina Station of the Kyoto Municipal Subway and Keihan Yamashina Station on the Keihan Keishin Line. To the south of Yamashina Station and across Keihan Yamashina Station is a rotary for buses (Keihan Bus, etc.) and taxis (see the section on Keihan Yamashina Station with respect to the bus routes entering the bus terminal). To the east of the ticket gate is a pathway in the south-north direction below the railway, which leads to the Anshu area, Kyoto Prefectural Rakuto High School, Yamashina Canal (Lake Biwa Canal), etc.
Each platform is equipped with a kiosk and an automatic dispenser. A waiting room is installed only for the Platform 3 and 4. Kiosks are found in the station, while around the station there are Heart-in and Menya outlets.
The barrier-free environment has been completed with the installation of an elevator and escalator.
Yamashina Station is the east-end stop 'within Kyoto City' of the JR railway fare system of specific metropolitan and urban areas.
Incidentally, Yamashina Station has passing tracks (which have no platform) running alongside its operating tracks according to the following arrangement: Track 1 runs alongside Platform 1, which serves Track 2; and Track 6 runs alongside Platform 4, which serves Track 5.
Trains from the outer outbound track enter tracks 1 and 2, and trains from the Kosei Line enter track 2, but trains from the inner outbound track can enter only track 3. Trains can depart from track 2 to enter either the inner or outer tracks but can depart from track 1 to enter only the outer track and from track 3 to enter only the inner track.
Trains can enter either track 5 or track 6 from the outer inbound track but can enter only track 4 from the inner track. Trains depart from track 4 to enter either the inner or outer inbound tracks, while trains departing from tracks 5 and 6 can enter only the outer inbound track. Trains can depart from all of tracks 4 to 6 in order to enter the Kosei Line.
In the announcement, the outbound Tokaido Main Line bound for Kyoto and Osaka is called the 'JR Kyoto Line' (officially, the JR Kyoto Line refers to sections to the west of Kyoto Station), while the inbound Tokaido Main Line bound for Maibara is called the 'Biwako Line.'
This is because, in the section between Yamashina Station and Kyoto Station, trains of either the Biwako Line or the Kosei Line are operated concurrently, while the lines bound for the same direction are collectively called the Biwako Line (the direct destination) for convenience; the above descriptions are also in accordance with this rule.
Kyoto Municipal Subway
Yamashina Station of the Kyoto Municipal Subway has an island platform serving two tracks in the opposite directions and equipped with platform doors; the station is located underground below the rotary of the Keihan Bus. A color is designated for every station on the Tozai Line of the Kyoto Municipal Subway; the color for Yamashina Station is dark lilac. There are stairs (and also escalators) in front of the ticket gate of the JR Yamashina Station, which lead to the ticket gate of the subway via a gentle pathway. There is a commuter ticket office. There is an elevator installed, which is manufactured by the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation and adapts to a stretcher (accommodating twenty people).
Because Keihan Yamashina Station is close to Yamashina Station, passengers can't buy tickets to connect to the Keihan Keishin Line via Misasagi Station.
Passenger use
Yamashina Station is the only the JR facility located in Yamashina Ward, which has been urbanized as a bedroom suburb; it is used by passengers commuting to Kyoto and Osaka as well as by passengers (many of whom are high school students) changing to local trains for the Kosei Line and the Biwako Line in Shiga Prefecture. Special rapid trains, which used to pass through Yamashina Station when the operation was extended to Kusatsu Station, later came to stop at Yamashina Station due to the increased numbers of passengers and for the improvement of convenience of changing trains from the Kosei Line to the Biwako Line. Additionally, the Airport Express 'Haruka' and the Limited Express 'Biwako Express' for commuters came to stop at Yamashina Station.
Meanwhile, Yamashina Station of the Kyoto Municipal Subway is used by passengers commuting from Yamashina Ward to the center of Kyoto City, as well as by passengers changing trains from JR to the Kyoto Municipal Subway to the center of Kyoto City or from the Kyoto Municipal Subway (from Daigo Station) to JR.
Since 2007, JR West and others have been promoting the message that vacationers should use of trains for transportation in Kyoto City in order to avoid the traffic jams caused by buses running within the city; in particular, the use of Yamashina Station on the Tozai Line of Kyoto Municipal Subway is recommended to passengers bound for sightseeing spots in the Higashiyama area, where Nanzen-ji Temple and Heian-jingu Shrine are located. In the case of a one-way ticket exceeding 201 km, passengers aren't required to make an additional payment because Yamashina Station is 'within the railway fare system of specific metropolitan and urban area'; however, a ticket of short distance, particularly from Osaka and Kobe to Yamashina Station, is excluded from the specified sections of trains or fares; consequently the fare to Yamashina Station is much higher than that to Kyoto Station.
JR West
The number of passengers per day was about 30,211 in fiscal year 2006. This ranks twenty-sixth among the stations of JR West and first among the stations to the east of Kyoto Station at which special rapid trains stop. The number of passengers was approximately 29,785 in fiscal year 2005, about 29,237 in fiscal year 2004 and about 29,203 in fiscal year 2003.
The number of passengers per day was approximately 18,726 in fiscal year 2005 (the number was 37,704 including passengers getting on and off).
Station surroundings
South of the station is a commercial area that serves as the center of Yamashina Ward, along the Kyoto Outer Loop Expressway facing the south. In front of the station is a commercial area called 'RACTO Yamashina' (in which Daimaru and other businesses are found), which was built as part of the redevelopment around the station. It is busy and prosperous around the station, due to large number of people passing through.
A narrow street running in the east-west direction to the south of the station is Old Sanjo-dori Street (Old Tokaido Road), while a street to the south of Old Sanjo-dori Street is the new Sanjo-dori Street (Shinomiya Yotsuzuka Line of the Kyoto Prefectural Route 143). Because Yamashina Station is the only JR facility in Yamashina Ward, many passengers reach the station by bicycle; accordingly, underground bicycle parking areas located in Kyoto City have a capacity to accommodate nearly 2,000 bicycles.
Meanwhile, north of the station is a residential area of low residential houses, while Biwako sosui (Lake Biwa Canal) runs along the mountains to the north of the residential area. To the north lies Bishamon-do (Monzeki) Temple.
North of the station
Kyoto Prefectural Rakuto High School
Lake Biwa First Canal
South of the station
RACTO Yamashina (a complex facility in which Daimaru Yamashina-ten, boutiques, communal facilities, residential houses and the like reside)
Old Sanjo-dori Street (Old Tokaido Road)
Sanjo-dori Street / Kyoto Outer Loop Expressway
The Kyoto Yamashina Takehana post office
Kyoto Pharmaceutical University
History
August 1, 1921: Yamashina Station was opened when the section between Banba Station (currently Zeze Station) and Kyoto Station on the Tokaido Main Line was changed to a new route. Passenger and freight services were offered.
The current section between Otsu Station and Kyoto Station was completed and launched with the opening of the Osakayama and Higashiyama tunnels. Previously, the Tokaido Main Line comprised the following sections: Banba Station - Otani Station (Shiga Prefecture) - (old) Yamashina Station - Inari Station - Kyoto Station. The old line was abandoned concurrently with the opening of the new line (the section between Inari Station and Kyoto Station was transferred to the Nara Line).
Incidentally, the old Yamashina Station, which existed on the old line, was opened on August 18, 1879, when part of the section between Kyoto Station and Otsu Station, i.e. the section between Kyoto Station and Otani Station, was opened. The old Yamashina Station lies to fairly south of the current station; where there is now the Meishin Expressway (near Ono Station (Kyoto Prefecture) of the Tozai Line of Kyoto Municipal Subway). Yamashina Station has been described in "Hototogisu" (The Cuckoo) by Roka TOKUTOMI and "Yogisha" (night train) by Sakutaro HAGIWARA.
October 1, 1971: The freight service was discontinued.
July 20, 1974: The Kosei Line (between Yamashina Station and Omi-Shiotsu Station) opened.
April 1, 1987: Yamashina Station came to be operated by JR West as a result of the division and privatization of the JNR.
October 5, 1995: The construction of Yamashina Station on the Tozai Line, Kyoto Municipal Subway, began.
May 30, 1997: Yamashina Station on the Tozai Line, Kyoto Municipal Subway, opened.
It was decided that the subway station would be built for connections between the JR and Keihan Keishin lines.
At the time, the area was involved in the process of urban redevelopment. Prior to redevelopment, there was a Keihan Bus stop between the Keihan Line and the JR Line. Today, a bus terminal and a taxi stand are found to the south of the Keihan Line. The Keihan buses (bound for Yamashina, Daigo and Rokujizo) and expressway buses (bound for Kanazawa and Tokyo) arrive at and depart from the bus terminal.
Others
Yamashina Station, of the Kyoto Municipal Subway, was chosen as part of the second selection of 100 prominent stations in the Kinki region.
There are two stations called 'Ono Station,' and both are accessible via through train from Yamashina Station. One is Ono Station on the JR Kosei Line (located in Otsu City (Old Shiga-cho), Shiga Prefecture), and another is Ono Station (located in Yamashina Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture) on the Tozai Line of the Kyoto Municipal Subway; as can be seen from the prefecture to which the station belongs, these two stations are located in distinctly different places.
The platforms of JR Yamashina Station are located above the embankment, which is accessed by the stairs through a pathway below the embankment from the ticket gate on the lower level. An escalator was installed next to the stairs during the barrier-free construction; meanwhile, passengers who use the elevator are required to go up an overpass over the platforms (which was newly installed by the barrier-free construction) from the ticket gate and then go down to each of the platforms.
(Incidentally, a repeating signal of the railway signal was installed in the outbound direction for the construction of this overpass.)
Adjacent stations
West Japan Railway Company (JR West)
Biwako Line (Tokaido Main Line)
Airport Express 'Haruka' and Limited Express 'Biwako Express' stop at Yamashina Station.
Special Rapid /Local (including local trains that run as rapid trains at Kyoto or Takatsuki Station and stations to the west of the latter)
Otsu Station - Yamashina Station - Kyoto Station
Kosei Line (The section between Kyoto Station and Yamashina Station is the Tokaido Main Line.)
Special Rapid/Rapid /Local
Kyoto Station - Yamashina Station - Otsukyo Station
Tozai Line
Higashino Station (Kyoto Prefecture) (T06) - Yamashina Station (T07) - Misasagi Station (T08)
The first Yamashina Station
Japanese Government Railways (JGR) (National Railways)
Tokaido Main Line (old line)
Otani Station (Shiga Prefecture) - Yamashina Station (old station) - Inari Station
The Yamashina issue: an issue relating to an exception for the JR fare as applied to a specified section