JR West will open a new station by Kyoto’s Umekoji Park in the spring of 2019. The new station, which has not yet been named, will be located between Kyoto Station and Tambaguchi Station on the JR Sagano Line (JR San-in Line).
An artist’s impression of the new Umekoji Park station in Kyoto
The new station’s location on the north-west side of Umekoji Park will make it much easier for tourists to get to the park and its facilities. Both Kyoto Railway Museum and Kyoto Aquarium are contained within the park grounds, but currently visitors to Kyoto must walk 20 minutes from Kyoto Station to reach them. The new station will be just one stop from Kyoto Station and make all of these facilities immediately accessible.
The new station will be located on the north-west side of Umekoji Park
Plans for the new station were agreed between JR West and Kyoto City in 2015 and work on construction commenced the following year. The station is part of an ongoing strategy to revitalize the western part of the city with new tourist facilities. The Kyoto Railway Museum has proven especially popular since it opened in April 2016. With 53 railway vehicles on display, model railroad dioramas, a train simulator, and regular steam train rides, it has become an essential stop on any Kyoto tour.
In a bid to drum up pre-publicity in advance of next year’s opening JR West and Kyoto City recently ran a competition to name the new station. Though “Umekoji Park Station” might seem like the obvious choice, let’s wait and see what Kyoto city’s citizens come up with.
Article by Michael Lambe. All rights reserved.
