A , or "secluded station", is the

Japanese language is the principal language of the Japonic languages, Japonic language family spoken by the Japanese people. It has around 123 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese dia ...

name for

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

s that are little used and isolated.

Photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

s and

rail fan A railfan, train fan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff, anorak (British English), gunzel (Australian English), trainspotter (British English) or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally in ...

s visit the stations to take photos of historical stations and trains or photos of nature. The Japanese term was invented by Takanobu Ushiyama and his friends when he began a website in 1999 dedicated to these stations. He subsequently wrote two books: ''Hikyo-eki e Iko!'' ("Let's Go to ''Hikyō'' Stations!"), published by

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

Inc. in 2001 and ''Motto Hikyo-eki e Iko!'' ("Let's Go to More ''Hikyō'' Stations!"), published in 2003. The term is now also used in other countries like

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, especially among train fans.

Summary

''Hikyō'' stations are generally located in areas that previously had a sizeable human population due to mountain climbing and related activities, but currently have very few inhabitants and houses. Because of this lack of population, trains no longer make regular stops, and train and rail fans have adopted these as popular locations for visiting. Because of the lack of regular passenger custom, the stations see little use these days, and many are being considered for closure. Beginning with the personal site of train enthusiast Takanobu Ushiyama, and a subsequent book published in 2001 by

, the general awareness of these ''hikyō'' stations has increased. In 2004, a television program about ''hikyō'' stations aired on

SkyPerfecTV is a direct broadcast satellite Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location.ITU Radio Regulations, Sec ...

's Travel Channel. Along with Hirohiko Yokomi's '' Tetsuko no Tabi'' manga, many of these stations were introduced to the public. Since Ushiyama's site and book were released, there has been an increase in

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

and dangerous activities around train crossings and tunnels, in addition to the increase of regular passengers going to these stations. Ushiyama has mentioned on his site and in his book practically every news story and fact about the use of fire at places such as the railroad crossings and closed station buildings. After an incident which resulted in injuries at Hariusu Station (operated by

JR Hokkaido The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to by its official abbreviation: . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a smart c ...

), year-round service at that station was stopped. This also prompted an effort to deal with the security at these stations. Even with these issues, there is still a steady, if small, stream of visitors to these ''hikyō'' stations. These visitors provide the livelihood for those in these secluded and less well-known stations, despite any negative issues caused by a small number of accidents. The Japan Railway

Iida Line The is a Japanese railway line connecting Toyohashi Station in Toyohashi, Aichi with Tatsuno Station in Tatsuno, Nagano, operated by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). The line links eastern Aichi Prefecture and southern Nagano Pr ...

, which has 94 such stations, including Kowada Station, along its rugged mountainous route is known as the "holy land for those who love touring ''hikyo-eki''."

References

External links and references

Let's Go to the Secluded Stations!
– Original ''hikyō'' station website run by Takanobu Ushiyama {{DEFAULTSORT:Hikyo station Railway culture in Japan Tourist attractions in Japan Rail tourism Railway stations in Japan