Kaifu Station

Railway station in Kaiyō, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan

■ Asatō Line

Distance1.5 km from Awa-Kainan (start of the Asato Line)Platforms2 side platformsTracks2ConstructionStructure typeElevatedBicycle facilitiesBike shedOther informationStatusUnstaffedStation codeAK28WebsiteOfficial website (Asa Kaigan Railway)HistoryOpened1 October 1973 (1973-10-01)

Location
Kaifu Station Location within Tokushima Prefecture Show map of Tokushima Prefecture Kaifu Station Kaifu Station (Japan) Show map of Japan

Kaifu Station (海部駅, Kaifu-eki) is a passenger railway station located in the town of Kaiyō, Kaifu District, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the third-sector Asa Seaside Railway and bears the station number "AK28".

Lines

Kaifu Station is served by the Asato Line and located 1.5 km from the terminus of the line at Awa-Kainan Station. The JR Mugi Line hasn't interconnected with Asa Seaside Railway since 2021.

Layout

The station, which is unstaffed, consists of two side platforms serving two tracks on an elevated structure. There is no station building and the station is unstaffed. Access to the platforms is by means of a flight of steps and the two platforms are linked by a level crossing across the tracks. A bike shed is provided at the base of the elevated structure.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Just to the north of the station, trains pass through the Chōnai Tunnel (町内トンネル, Chōnai ton'neru), a short 44 meters (144 ft) tunnel original driven through a hill. Land development had led to the entire hill being removed but the tunnel structure was left intact.^[4]

Station entrance. Note steps leading up to the platform. The black plaque commemorates the opening of the Asatō Line. The sign above the roller shutters says "Kaifu Town Tourism Information Centre" - now replaced by a community interaction centre.
A view of the station tracks looking in the direction of Tokushima. Note the Chōnai Tunnel. The hill it used to punch through has now been removed for land development

Adjacent stations

«	Service
Asa Seaside Railway
Asato Line
Awa-Kainan	Local	Shishikui

History

Japanese National Railways (JNR) opened Kaifu Station on 1 October 1973 as an intermediate station when the track of the Mugi Line was extended from Mugi to Kaifu. On 1 April 1987, with the privatization of JNR, control of the station passed to JR Shikoku.^[5]^[6] On 26 March 1992, the third sector Asa Kaigan Railway completing the extension of the track southwards to Kannoura and the Asatō Line began operations with Kaifu as the northern terminus.^[7]

On 23 December 2015, a local community group in Kaiyō opened a community interaction centre underneath the elevated structure of the station to promote interaction between senior citizens and children in the town. It was located in the premises of a former town tourism information centre which had been built there in 1995.^[8]

Since 1 November 2020, the station has been transferred to Asa Seaside Railway from JR Shikoku as DMV is commenced operations from summer 2021.

Surrounding area

Kaiyo Town Hall Kaifu Government Building

References

^ "海部" [Kaifu Station]. hacchi-no-he.net. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
^ Kawashima, Ryōzō (2013). 図説: 日本の鉄道四国・九州ライン全線・全駅・全配線・第1巻四国東部エリア [Japan Railways Illustrated. Shikoku and Kyushu. All lines, all stations, all track layouts. Volume 1 Eastern Shikoku] (in Japanese). Kodansha. pp. 43, 74. ISBN 9784062951609.
^ "海部駅" [Kaifu Station]. shikoku.org.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
^ "四国土木紀行No.5 町内トンネル" [Shikoku Civil Engineering Proceedings No. 5 Chōnai Tunnel] (PDF). Japan Society of Civil Engineers Shikoku Branch. 10 July 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2018. Contains pictures of the tunnel before and after the hill around it was cut away.
^ Ishino, Tetsu; et al., eds. (1998). 停車場変遷大事典国鉄・JR編 [Station Transition Directory – JNR/JR] (in Japanese). Vol. II. Tokyo: JTB Corporation. p. 662. ISBN 4-533-02980-9.
^ Ishino, Tetsu; et al., eds. (1998). 停車場変遷大事典国鉄・JR編 [Station Transition Directory – JNR/JR] (in Japanese). Vol. I. Tokyo: JTB Corporation. p. 217. ISBN 4-533-02980-9.
^ Terada, Hirokazu (19 January 2013). データブック日本の私鉄 [Databook: Japan's Private Railways] (in Japanese). Japan: Neko Publishing. pp. 172, 302. ISBN 978-4-7770-1336-4.
^ "海部駅に交流施設　住民団体、高齢者と子どもつなぐ" [Interaction facility are Kaifu Station. Residents group connects children with senior citizens]. Tokushim Shimbun web. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2018.