Hamadera Park Station

The Hamadera-koen Station building was designed by the office of Dr. Kingo Tatsuno, who also worked on Osaka City Central Public Hall and Tokyo Station. It is a rare surviving Meiji-era structure: an active station building and the oldest among private railway station buildings still in use. Hamadera Park was created in 1872 (Meiji 5), and Hamadera-koen Station was established in 1897 (Meiji 30). The existing station building was completed in 1907 (Meiji 40) and remains today. Its geometric design of pillars and beams is beautiful. The single-story, wooden half-timber style building continues to serve as a gateway for visitors to Hamadera Park. You can easily visit it via Nankai Line Hamadera-koen Station or Hankai Line Hamadera-ekimae Station. Note that the station itself has been shifted to the north; the old station building is now used as a station café and gallery and can be freely visited. Inside, you can view drawings and photos featuring the station building. It was designated a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan in 1998, and in 2002 it was selected in the first “Kinki Station 100 Selections.”