Katsura Station (桂駅)
Katsura Station, located in Nishikyo Ward, Kyoto City, is a stop that is operated by the Hankyu Railway.
Lines
Hankyu Kyoto Line
Hankyu Arashiyama Line * The Hankyu Arashiyama Line starts at Katsura Station.
Station layout
Katsura Station is an aboveground facility with three platforms serving six tracks; the station building is located on the bridge. Trains running on the Kyoto Line can pass superior trains at this station. Rapid express trains bound for Kawaramachi Station are comprised of ten cars (including two added cars) during the morning rush on weekdays; the additional cars are separated at this station.
The pedestrian deck on the east side is connected to the station building.
Only Ｔrack C is connected directly to the Katsura train depot. Track C is used for the first local train bound for Kawaramachi Station on the Kyoto Line and as a railroad siding for deadhead trains. Incidentally, in the announcement Track C is called the Arashiyama Line platform, like Track 1 (because there used to be through special express trains that would run between Umeda Station and Arashiyama Station on the Kyoto Line, which arrived at and departed from Track C).
When the station was rebuilt, a platform was constructed for Track C, which was originally a storage track of the Katsura train depot located adjacent to the station; since then the platform has been referred to as Platform C.
Commercial construction
There is a commercial construction called 'MEW Hankyu Katsura' at Katsura Station. The commercial construction is operated with 'East' of the station building located on the east side of the station and 'West' comprising stores adjacent to the pedestrian deck on the west side of the station.
East' (the east exit)
First floor: Kentucky Fried Chicken, Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd., PODESTA COFFEE, Katsura Station Kyoto City certificate-issuing office
(Hankyu Soba resides on the first floor of the Katsura Station office building adjacent to the East station building.)
Second floor: Paid bicycle parking area
Third floor: Station ticket gate, Vie de France (bakery), clothing stores, Maruju (handicrafts)
Fourth floor: Cando (hundred-yen store), Book First (bookstore)
Fifth floor: Beauty salon, TBC GROUP (beauty-care salon), private school
(In the past, there was a bookstore and an optician's store on the fifth floor, but the bookstore was closed and the optician's store was vacated; today there aren't so many people on the fifth floor.)
Note 1) There are elevators and escalators from the first floor to the fifth floor. But the elevator does not stop at the second floor.
Note 2) The capacity of the bicycle parking area (pay) isn't very large. Kyoto City operates several bicycle parking areas around the station.
West' (the west exit)
Third floor: LOTTERIA, Chidoriya, Coffee Time Amando (café), Karin (ramen), Hankyu Housing Plaza Katsura (real estate)
There are also ASNAS, a flower shop, Rapoppo (confectionery), an accessory shop and a betting house near the concourse at the station ticket gate.
Passenger use
The number of passengers per day was about 31,616 in fiscal year 2003 (according to the Kyoto Prefecture Statistics Report).
Station surroundings
The Katsura train depot
Katsura Imperial Villa (approximately 600 meters from the station)
Jizo-ji Temple (Kyoto City) (one of the Pilgrimage to Roku-jizo (Six Jizo) temples)
The Kyoto Katsura Nishiguchi post office
The Kyoto Katsura post office
Katsura Elementary School, Kyoto City
Kawaoka Elementary School, Kyoto City
The streets around the station are narrow, but route buses still travel through the area. Additionally, the Kawaoka (railway) crossing south of the station is situated between the streets, resulting in traffic congestion. Moreover, because the crossing gate comes down every time, not only commercial trains but also trains entering and leaving the rail yard pass the crossing, neighborhood residents have been requesting the elevation of the station; however, given the huge cost and the poor financial status of Kyoto City it is uncertain whether the elevation will be realized. Under the circumstances, and to improve the situation, Rakusaiguchi Station was opened (at basically the same location as the old Mozume Station).
The bus stop in front of Hankyu Katsura Station
East exit of Katsura Station
Kyoto City Bus
Route 33 and Special 33: Bound for Kyoto Station (via Shichijo-dori Street)/for Rakusai Bus Terminal (via Sannomiya)
Route 69: Bound for Nijo Station (via Shijo Omiya)
Route 70: Bound for Uzumasa Tenjingawa Station (via Shimo-Katsura/Umezu Danmachi)
Route South 1: Bound for Takeda Station (Kyoto Prefecture) (via Shimo-Katsura/Katsura Koko-mae (Katsura High School), Naka-kuze)
Route Special South 1: Bound for Kuze Kogyodanchi-mae (Kuze Industrial Park) (via Kawashima Rokunotsubo-cho/Naka-kuze)
Routes 1 and 2: Bound for Kameoka Station (via Sannomiya, Kokudo Kutsukake-guchi)
Routes 2 and 14: Bound for Kyoto Station (via Higashigawa-cho, Shichijo-dori Street)
Route 26: Bound for Kyoto Station (via Katsura Kobashi, Shichijo-dori Street)
Routes 10, 15 and Rapid 16: Bound for Rakusai Bus Terminal
Route 26: Bound for Katsurazaka-Chuo (via Sannomiyakaido, Nishi-Katsurazaka)
Routes 13 and 14: Bound for Nagamine (via Kokudo Nakayama/Geidai-mae (Kyoto City University of Arts))
Route 13B: Bound for Nagamine (via Nakayama-kyudo)
Route 58: Bound for Kyoto gakuen daigaku (Kyoto Gakuen University)
West exit of Katsura Station
Kyoto City Bus
Route West 1: Bound for Rakusai Bus Terminal (via Shinbayashi Center-mae)
Route West 2: Bound for Rakusai Bus Terminal (via Nishitakenosato-cho)
Route West 3: Bound for Rakusai Bus Terminal (via Minamifukunishi-cho)
Route West 5: Bound for Katsurazaka-Chuo (via Nishi-Katsurazaka)
Route West 6: Bound for Katsurazaka-Chuo (via Kyoto University (kyodai Katsura Campus-mae))
Route West 8: Bound for Rakusai Bus Terminal (via Minamifukunishi-cho, Shinbayashi Center-mae)
Route Rapid West 2: Bound for Rakusai Bus Terminal (via Ukyonosato)
Route Special West 2: Bound for Rakusai Bus Terminal (via Minamikasuga-cho)
Route Rapid West 3: Bound for Rakusai Bus Terminal (Sakaidani Ohashi) (via Fukunishi Hondori, Nishitakenosato-cho, Shinbayashi Nakadori)
Route 20: Bound for Katsurazaka-Chuo
History
November 1, 1928: The station was opened concurrently with the opening of the section between Takatsuki-cho Station and Saiin Station of the Shinkeihan Railway.
November 9, 1928: The Arashiyama Line was opened and the station became a stop for transfers.
September 15, 1930: Katsura Station became a stop operated by the Keihan Electric Railway as a result of amalgamation.
October 1, 1943: Katsura Station came to be operated by the Keihanshin Express Railway as a result of amalgamation of the Keihan Electric Railway and the Hanshin Electric Express Railway.
April 1, 1973: Katsura Station came to be a stop of the Hankyu Railway due to the change of the company's name.
March 17, 2007: The commuter limited express trains came to stop at Katsura Station, thus making all the trains stop at Katsura Station.
Adjacent stations
Kyoto Main Line
Limited Express
Nagaokatenjin Station - Katsura Station - Karasuma Station
Commuter Limited Express/Rapid Express
Nagaokatenjin Station - Katsura Station - Saiin Station
Semi Express/Local
Rakusaiguchi Station - Katsura Station - Nishikyogoku Station
Arashiyama Line (All the trains stop at every station.)
Katsura Station - Kamikatsura Station
Others
The station was used as a location for the shooting of a commercial for the LAWSON's pork cutlet box lunch (Katsu-bento). Sanshi KATSURA and Tomomi KAHARA were cast in the commercial.
In the commercial, a pun was made of 'cutlet' (katsu) and 'KATSURA.'
The type/destination information board installed on the platform for Kawaramachi (platforms 2 and 3) is a rotatable-flap display, which differs from that of other stations in that a flap displaying 'for' is added to the name of the destination, such as 'Limited Express for Kawaramachi.'
This display is an integration type that displays the first departure, which used to be found often in the old rotatable-flap displays of the Hankyu Railway (however, in the display, the flap 'Rapid' (not in service) remains).
This type of rotatable-flap display is still used only at Katsura Station among the stations of the Hankyu Railway that still use rotatable-flap displays.)
Meanwhile, the LED display board and the lamp-stand type of display board are installed as type/destination information boards on the platform for Osaka (platforms 4 and 5) and the Arashiyama Line platform (platforms C and 1), respectively, but those boards don't display 'for' as part of the destinations.
The manzai comedian duo "Black Mayonnaise" has a story related to Katsura: 'Despite my bald head, my name is Kosugi (i.e., thick hair). I'm from Katsura (i.e., wig).
In fact, there is a place called Katsura, in Kyoto.'