Kishi Station (Wakayama)

Kishi Station (貴志駅, Kishi-eki) is a passenger railway station in located in the city of Kinokawa, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway company Wakayama Electric Railway.

Kishi Station 貴志駅
Kishi Station in August 2010
General information
Location	Kishigawacho Kodo, Kinokawa-shi, Wakayama-ken 640-0413 Japan
Coordinates	34.2096°N 135.3120°E / 34.2096; 135.3120
Operated by	Wakayama Electric Railway
Line(s)	■ Kishigawa Line
Distance	14.3 km from Wakayama
Platforms	1 side platform
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Other information
Status	Staffed
Station code	14
History
Opened	18 August 1933 (1933-08-18)
Passengers
FY2017	1397 per day[1]
Location Kishi Station Location within Wakayama Prefecture Show map of Wakayama Prefecture Kishi Station Kishi Station (Japan) Show map of Japan

Station Master Cat "Tama"

Lines

Kishi Station is a terminal station of the Kishigawa Line, and is located 14.3 kilometers from the opposing terminus of the line at Wakayama Station.

Station layout

The station consists of one deadheaded side platform serving a single bi-directional track. The station is staffed and managed by a cat.

Adjacent stations

«		Service	»
Kishigawa Line
Kanrojimae		Local	Terminus

History

The old Kishi Station

Kishi Station opened on August 18, 1933. On February 1, 2010, the Kishi Station building was closed and demolished. Construction began on a new station facility in March, with the cat-themed new complex opened in July.^[2]

Kishi Station was known for Tama the stationmaster cat, who became the mascot for the station until she died in June 2015.^[3] The cat held the official position as Super Station Master.^[4][5] Tama was succeeded as Station Master by another cat, named Nitama.^[6]

Since renovation, the station is housed in a cat-face-shaped building, with a Tama-theme cafe, with cat theme chairs and cakes. There is a souvenir shop with a wide range of stationery (pens, staplers and others) and Kishi Station uniforms. The Wakayama Electric Railway operates three cat-themed trains: Strawberry, Tama, and Toy.^[7] The feline stationmaster works on Friday–Tuesday (10am–4pm) and is off duty on Wednesday and Thursday.

Passenger statistics

Ridership per day [1]
Year	Ridership
2011	1,345
2012	1,340
2013	1,427
2014	1,415
2015	1,507
2016	1,425
2017	1,397
2018	1,358
2019	1,273
2020	1,212
2021	1,174
2022	1,132

Gallery

• 
  The renovated platform with a Shinto shrine on the left, August 2010

Surrounding Area

• former Kishigawa Town Hall
• Kinokawa City Nakatakashi Elementary School

See also

• List of railway stations in Japan

References

1. "国土数値情報 駅別乗降客数データ" (in Japanese). MLIT. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
2. "Cat 'stationmaster' gets promoted to executive post at railway company - the Mainichi Daily News". Archived from the original on 2010-01-17. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
3. 「たま駅長」死ぬ―和歌山電鉄の名物駅長、心不全で １６歳、人間なら８０歳 ２８日に社葬 [Stationmaster Tama dies at age of 16]. Sankei West (in Japanese). Japan: The Sankei Shimbun & Sankei Digital. 2015-06-24. Archived from the original on 2015-06-24. Retrieved 2015-06-24.
4. "Tama the station cat brings passengers to Kishikawa railway line." Times Online. May 27, 2008.
5. Lah, Kyung. "Cat in hat makes $10 million for town." CNN. October 29, 2008.
6. Wong, Maggie Hiufu (2015-08-24). "Meet Nitama, the new cat in charge at Japan's Kishi Station". CNN.
7. Wong, Hiufu (24 May 2013). "The cat that saved a Japanese train station: Meet Tama, Japan's cutest stationmaster, and her adorable cat-shaped station home". CNN Travel. Retrieved 27 May 2013.

External links

Media related to Kishi Station (Wakayama) at Wikimedia Commons

• Kishi Station timetable