Yase-Hieizanguchi Station (八瀬比叡山口駅)
Yase-Hieizanguchi Station, located in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, is a terminal on the Eizan Main Line, which is operated by Eizan Electric Railway.
Summary of the station
As is evident from the station name, the peak of Mt. Hiei is reached from this station by using a cable car and other cable means. Since this station began operating, its name has been changed from Yase to Yase-yuen (the Yase amusement park) and to Yase-Hieizanguchi (the Yase entrance to Mt. Hiei). In the past there was Sports Valley Kyoto, later renamed Mori-no-Yuenchi (amusement park in the forest), after which the station was previously named, but the park closed in 2001 and, in 2002, the name was changed to the present Yase-Hieizanguchi Station. The former park site has been redeveloped by making use of the quiet nature of the area, centered on the Resourttrust XIV Yase Rikyu membership hotel and the addition of a home for senior citizens; furthermore, areas slightly north of the station as well as in the south have been developed for residential quarters. In the area around the station there are several traditional-style restaurants, and you can enjoy nostalgic Kyoto dishes such as "buckwheat noodle with herring" and "wild boar meat." In the area around the station there are wooden bridges as well as a suspension bridge (which is dismantled, as of December 2007, because some base portions of the main pillars have collapsed), and many people enjoy barbecue or sketching on the riverbed field.
In the daytime on weekdays, more trains are operated in the direction of the Kurama Line (at Demachiyanagi Station, three trains an hour start out for Yase-Hieizanguchi Station, while six trains an hour run in the direction of the Kurama Line, including those returning from Nikenchaya Station (Kyoto Prefecture)).
When going to the Ohara area from the central area of the city, it's possible to take a bus from this station, but many people use Kyoto buses directly from the central area (the use of a bus from this station isn't advantageous in view of the transportation fee), so few use buses from this station (however, in the autumn sightseeing season some travelers use buses from this station in order to avoid the traffic congestion within Kyoto City).
The cable-car station is located approximately 300 meters from this station, after exiting the ticket gate and crossing a wooden bridge.
Station layout
The wooden station house used from the start of the station and the dome-like roof specific to a terminal station recall the glorious days of the past. The station is normally unmanned, but when many users are expected station officers are stationed, and an automatic ticket-checking machine and automatic ticket vending machine are operated as well.
Three toothed platforms serving two tracks are provided, with each end of the three platforms connected to generate a spacious expanse. The ticket gate is provided not on the aforementioned expanse, as in Demachiyanagi Station and Kurama Station, but on the north side, to the left when facing the expanse from the tracks. A special entrance/exit gate for groups of users is provided on the expanse, but it's rarely used. The platform nearer to the entrance/exit gate is for Platform 1, and the one on the southernmost side is for Platform 2. The narrow intermediate platform, with no track number, is specifically for passengers leaving trains and is used only when a train arrives at Platform 2.
Although a lavatory is located on the Demachiyanagi side of the platform for Platform 1, the display 'Only for train crew' is given, so general station users must use the lavatory located outside the ticket gate and on the Platform 2 side. A rest area for the crew who will go into service on returning trains is located next to the lavatory for the train crew. The length of the dome-like roof is slightly less than that of a present-day train car, but the roof covers the entire area of the platform for Platform 1 alone.
The area from the entrance/exit to the platforms is flat, so it's easy for people in wheelchairs to use the station.
Station surroundings
Cable-Yase Station for the cable-car line operated by Keifuku Electric Railroad Co., Ltd.: Three-minute walk from the station
This is the place to board a cable car for Mt. Hiei.
Kuzuryu-taisha Shrine (Kuzuryu Benzaiten)
Kikakutei (a Japanese-style hotel)
The Takano-gawa River
Resourttrust XIV Yase Rikyu
Bus stops
Currently, no bus service is available in front of Yase-Hieizanguchi Station, but in the past there was a bus terminal for Ohara in front of the Yase amusement park, assuming an increase of users, with shuttle buses operated between this terminal and Ohara. The stairway in front of the entrance to the Resourttrust XIV Yase Rikyu membership hotel, located immediately in front of the station, was constructed to reach the bus terminal when the bus terminal was established, because the terminal was located at a higher place. Even today a sign for the bus terminal, '← For Ohara,' remains, though it has faded somewhat.
The nearest bus stop: Yase Eki-mae (in front of Yase Station) for buses of Kyoto Bus
Yase Eki-mae (in front of Yase Station)
The bus stop isn't located in front of the station but along National Route 367, a two-minute walk from the station.
Kyoto Bus
History
September 27, 1925: This station started its operation as Yase Station of the Kyoto Dento, an electric power company.
March 2, 1942: Because the company was handed over to Keifuku Electric Railroad Co., Ltd., it became a station of Keifuku Electric Railroad Co., Ltd.
August 1, 1965: The name was changed to Yase-yuen Station (the Yase amusement park station).
April 1, 1986: Because the company was handed over to Eizan Electric Railway, it became a station of Eizan Electric Railway.
March 10, 2002: The name was changed to Yase-Hieizanguchi Station.
Adjacent stations
Eizan Main Line
Miyake-Hachiman Station - Yase-Hieizanguchi Station