Obaku Station (黄檗駅)
Obaku Station, located in Uji City of Kyoto Prefecture, is a stop on the Keihan Electric Railway and West Japan Railway Company (JR West) lines.
Accessible railway lines
Keihan Electric Railway
West Japan Railway Company (JR West)
The ICOCA (West Japan Railway Company) and PiTaPa (Surutto KANSAI Association) cards can be used on both lines. J-Thru cards can only be used on JR Lines and various KANSAI THRU PASS-compatible cards only on the Keihan Line.
Station layout
The stations are situated in close proximity to each other; as routes themselves compete head to head, neither connecting passageways nor plans for such exist. Although the ends of their platforms are adjacent to each other, entrances/exits to the respective station buildings are at quite a distance and those transferring are obliged to make a detour.
Keihan Electric Railway
It is an above-ground station with two platforms and double tracks. It is located at a spot that is sharply curved, and labels printed 'Beware of gap between train and platform' are applied to the surfaces of platforms.
Ticket gates for the inbound and outbound platforms are separated, so it isn't possible to go back and forth between the two once inside the ticket gates. The ticket gates of both platforms are located nearer Chushojima, and the ticket gates on the platform for Uji are unmanned. Ｓtation staff are always stationed on the platform for Chushojima.
The Kiosk stall closed down on June 30, 2006, and currently only automatic vending machines for beverages and newspapers exist.
※Each of the platforms has a length sufficient to accommodate a five-car train. Platform numbers are not indicated.
JR West
It is an above-ground station with two platforms opposite each other and double tracks and at which trains can pass each other or pass others. Since the track configuration does not provide for thoroughfare, rapid trains slow down and pass by without stopping.
There was a time in the past when the station had only one platform (currently Platform 2), but another one (currently Platform 1) was newly installed to enhance the Nara Line's carrying capacity. Station building is extremely compact and of such a structure that when alighting from cars, the ticket gates are located directly in front. Station operations are commissioned to JR West Japan Transportation Service Co., Ltd.
Usage status
Keihan Electric Railway - The number of passengers boarding at this station came to approximately 3,441 per day (according to a survey by Keihan Electric Railway Co., Ltd.).
JR West - The number of passengers boarding at this station came to approximately 3,282 per day (West Japan Railway Company survey).
(Source: both from the Fiscal Year 2006 Kyoto Prefecture Statistical Report)
Station surroundings
Mampuku-ji Temple Obaku-sect Head Temple
Kohata-jinja Shrine Kohata-jinja Shrine of Gokasho
Kyoto University Uji Campus
Kyoto Art Senior High School
Uji Municipal Higashiuji Junior High School
Uji-Gokasho Post Office
Kyoto-Uji Line of the Kyoto Prefectural Route 7
History
June 1, 1913: It was inaugurated as a station on the Uji Line of Keihan Electric Railway. At that time, the station's name was Obakusan Station.
1926: The station was renamed Obaku Station.
October 1, 1943: It became a Keihanshin-kyuko-dentsu (Hankyu Corporation) station as a result of amalgamation.
December 1, 1949: It became a Keihan Electric Railway station as a result of corporate severance.
April 1, 1961: It was inaugurated as a Japan National Railways Nara Line station.
April 1, 1987: Japan National Railways station became a West Japan Railway Company station as a result of the split privatization of Japan National Railways.
September 27, 1999: A wheelchair-compatible restroom was installed on the platform for Keihan Uji and became operational.
March 11, 2002: A tumbling-off detection mat and platform abnormality communication unit were installed on the platform for Keihan Uji.
Neighboring stations
Keihan Electric Railway
Uji Line (all trains stop at each station)
Kohata Station (Keihan) - Obaku Station -Mimurodo Station
West Japan Railway Company (JR West)
■Miyakoji Rapid Service/■Rapid Service/■Regional Rapid Service
Nonstop
■Local
Kohata Station (JR West) - Obaku Station - Uji Ｓｔａｔｉｏｎ (JR West)