Osaka City, with a population of approximately 2.7 million, has many railway lines.
Many lines support our lives, including the JR Osaka Loop Line, which runs in a loop around Osaka city,
and the Osaka Metro Midosuji Line, which runs through Osaka’s main terminals and is said to be the “Osaka artery”.
Surprisingly, streetcars run in Osaka City.
Among the many routes, there is one that is not well known, even though it runs through the center of Osaka City.
That is the Nankai Shiomibashi Line Nankai Shiomibashi Line, which I introduce this time.
It is considered a local line within Osaka City, with two-car trains running.
I, hiikun, decided to feature this route to show you the wonderful attractions along the route from my perspective as a a local resident.
This article is intended for the following people
・Those interested in local trains.
・Those who want to enjoy the atmosphere of old town in Osaka.
・Those interested in something unusual.
By reading this article, you will learn about charms of the old town in Osaka that you cannot experience in tourist areas and downtown districts, and you will definitely want to visit the areas along the line.
Thank you again for your cooperation.
What is Nankai Electric Railway?
Before explaining the Nankai Shiomibashi Line, I will make a brief explanation to you
about Nankai Electric Railway (formally Nankai Electric Railway Co.
Nankai Electric Railway is a railroad company with a total operating distance of 154.8 km, connecting Namba, a terminal in Osaka’s Minami district, to Wakayama City, Kansai International Airport, and the World Heritage site of Koyasan.
Founded in 1885 (Meiji 18), it is one of the five major private railway companies in the Kansai region.
It is an airport express, “Rapito”.
It always looks cool!
It owns several branch lines, including the Nankai Main Line (Namba to Wakayama City) and the Nankai Koya Line (Namba to Gokurakubashi to Koyasan).
Many foreign tourists also use this railway service because of its direct access to Kansai International Airport.
In addition to its own lines, this railway company also provides direct service to Senboku Rapid Railway, which branches off from Nakamozu Station on the Koya Line.
The number of platforms at Namba Station, the terminal on the Osaka side of the line, is a head-end type (dead-end type) with nine sides and eight tracks.
This is the second largest in Japan, not only among private railways, but also in Japan, following the Hankyu Osaka Umeda Station, which has nine lines on ten sides.
The long-held dream of expanding into Umeda via the “Naniwa-suji Line,” which is currently under construction, is also scheduled to be realized.
It used to have a professional baseball team,
“the Nankai Hawks” (now the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks Hawks).
Although I, hiikun, am not a resident of the area, I do have the opportunity to use Nankai for some reason.
I use it when I go to the beaches along the route to enjoy swimming and bodyboarding, when I go to Kanku Airport to board an airplane, when I go to Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine, when I go to Koyasan, when I go to renew my car license, and so on.
In recent years, the Kansai-Kishuji rapid service train has been stopping all day at the JR Osaka Loop Line station in my local area,
So, I use Nankai less frequently.
However, we still use it when we have business along the line.
The lines we will introduce are not major lines such as the Nankai Main Line, the Airport Line, or the Koya Line,
The Shiomibashi Line is a line that is not well known even among Osaka residents.
However, the Shiomibashi Line is full of attractions.
You can fully appreciate quiet and peaceful atmosphere of the old town, which is very different from downtown areas such as Umeda, Namba, Tennoji, Shin-Osaka, Universal Studios Japan, and other sightseeing and business areas.
Moreover, there are some unusual buildings along the line.
It is also a line that I have fond memories of riding with my family when I was a child.
In the next section, we will look at what the Shiomibashi Line is like.
Scenery along the Nankai Shiomibashi Line
In this section, I introduce the scenery along the Nankai Shiomibashi Line to you.
You will be able to enjoy the quiet and serene scenery of traditiona town
that you will never see in the major tourist areas of Osaka.
There are some places that, as a local, I, hiikun, am able to introduce to you.
Please look forward to it.
Let’s look at it one station at a time.
Shiomibashi Station
Let’s start with Shiomibashi Station, the starting station of the Shiomibashi Line.
The Nankai Shiomibashi Line is a common name, and is technically part of the Nankai Koya Line.
The area between Shiomibashi and Kishisato-Tamade is called Shiomibashi Line.
Currently, though, all trains on the Nankai Koya Line depart from and arrive at Namba,
Shiomibashi, not Namba, is the official starting point of the Koya Line.
There used to be a direct train service from this station to Koyasan.
However, the line was divided by Osaka City’s urban grade crossing project in 1985 (Showa 60).
Direct access to the Koya Line main line is no longer possible.
As a result, all trains from Shiomibashi began to turn back at Kishisato-Tamade, where they remain to this day.
The station opened in 1900 (meiji 33) as “Dotonbori Station”.
The station building is very old and has a history of more than 120 years.
Located in Sakuragawa 3-chome, Naniwa-ku, Osaka City.
I, hiikun, am from Taisho Ward, Osaka City, and “Sakuragawa” is a place of memories.
My father used to run a sushi restaurant near this station.
To be precise, my entire family on my father’s side ran a sushi restaurant, a diner, and an okonomiyaki restaurant.
My father was in charge of a sushi restaurant.
For a time, my mother also visited the area on weekends to help my father run his sushi restaurant.
I remember playing with my cousins in a nearby park.
Even after junior high school, I often visited this area.
I was responsible for purchasing meat for my father’s business at the butcher shop and delivering it to his store.
He had been frequently visiting Sakuragawa because I had been doing that job until around the time I graduated from high school,
It is no exaggeration to say that Sakuragawa is a second home town for me.
Even now, whenever I pass by this neighborhood, the memories of those days come back to me.
In front of the station, there is this large main road.
If you go straight down this street, you will reach Namba.
You may walk to Namba in 20 minutes.
Proceeding in the opposite direction, you can reach Taisho and Kyocera Dome Osaka.
There is also a hotel in front of the station building.
Smile Hotel Namba
Only one of these two-car trains exists.
It comes and goes between this station and Kishisato-Tamade, the last stop.
Despite the fact that the entire line is almost entirely double track, trains do not pass each other.
An old-fashioned information map is posted directly above the ticket gate.
As you can see, the train departs every 30 minutes.
Please refer to the official website of Nankai Electric Railway for the timetable of each station on the Shiomibashi Line.
A very old thermometer is also installed.
It is still in operation.
There is a nice mural painted on the station building.
Next to Shiomibashi Station is Sakuragawa station on the Hanshin Namba Line.
From there, 100 meters toward Namba, there is Sakuragawa Station on the Osaka Metro Sennichimae Line.
In contrast to the hustle and bustle of the surrounding area,
only Shiomibashi Station remains as quiet and serene as in the past.
The pillars and roof are quite old.
While the surrounding area is changing rapidly, the station platform remains almost unchanged.
Finally, it is time to depart.
In addition to myself, there were about 15 other people on board.
Taken from the railroad crossing midway between Shiomibashi and Ashihara-cho stations.
Now, let’s follow the railroad tracks and go beyond this crossing.
Ashihara-cho Station
The next place I came to was Ashihara-cho Station.
There are no restaurants or stores around the station, and most of the houses and apartment complexes are located in the area.
Another angle shot of the platform for the outbound train.
The elevated line in the back is the JR Osaka Loop Line.
Follow the elevated track to the right and you will reach JR Ashiharabashi Station (not Ashiharacho).
Many residents in the neighborhood do not usually use this line but take the JR Osaka Loop Line.
There is a driving school (Ashihara Driving School) by the station.
I, hiikun, obtained my driver’s license at this school exactly 20 years ago.
Let’s go further.
It becomes less popular all the time.
Kizugawa Station
Kizugawa Station!!
The number of passengers per day is only 141 in 2019 (according to Wikipedia).
Kizugawa Station has the “smallest” number of passengers among all railway stations in Osaka City.
From this station, we enter Nishinari Ward.
Looking around the area, all I see are warehouses and factories….
There are no private residences near the station. They are located in a slightly remote area.
The view from the station building side looks like this.
It is so bleak and empty that it is hard to believe that it is in front of a train station in the city.
Naturally, no one was there when I visited.
I looked at the platform but no one was waiting.
The old station building and platform look very nice.
Even though I visited the station while it was still light, the place was very lonely and unpopular.
When I was a child, I used to fear what I would do if I was dropped off at this station.
In fact, Kizugawa Station used to have a freight station attached to it that handled a lot of lumber.
Lumber cut in the Kii Mountains was transported by freight cars to the freight station adjacent to this station, and furthermore, lumber was transported to various locations via the Kizu River (a river flowing between Nishinari and Taisho wards), which is located beyond the Iribori adjacent to the freight station.
As its base, Kizugawa Station was very prosperous until the 1960s.
Today, however, there are no signs of the prosperous days.
The station building stands alone.
However, in recent years, many railroad and travel YouTubers have featured this station.
It is now attracting attention as an “unexplored station in the city.”
It is very interesting to see our station presented from different perspectives.
If you like, you can search and watch their videos.
Hidden spot between Kizugawa and Tsumori stations.
Let’s take a little detour here.
Between this station and the next Tsumori station, there is a famous landmark that even residents of Osaka Prefecture do not know.
Before heading to Tsumori Station, I invite you, our readers, to visit its landmarks.
Exit the station and go up the hill you see at the back…
You will reach a road along the river.
Just to the right of the road is the Kizu River, which I mentioned earlier.
Just keep moving forward.
On the way, you will see a narrow alley with a gentle slope on your right in the direction of travel.
Ochiai Kami ・・・・?
Let’s go in anyway.
Another ascent is in sight.
I went ahead and…
Spread out before you is the “Kizu River”, which I introduced earlier.
And the place where I am is Ochiai Kamigami ferry port.
On the other side of the river is Taisho Ward. Two boats are anchored and there is also a crew’s quarters.
This is a public ferry in Osaka, which also appeared in the previous article titled “[Tourists must see] I’ll tell you how to get from USJ to Tempozan for free! ”
For more information, please refer to this article.
In that article, I describe the Tempozan ferry that I took on my way from Universal Studios Japan to Tempozan.
Ochiai Kamigami ferry port is one of them.
I did not take this ferry this time because I was covering the Nankai Shiomibashi Line.
I stepped back a little and took this shot.
There is a sign in front prohibiting photography with smartphones and cameras, but photography is allowed in the waiting area.
It is OK to do so while on board, but you must be considerate of those around you.
Not at the pier or boarding area.
Bicycles are safe to ride.
Follow the instructions of the crew members.
This is the downstream side.
And here is something I wanted to show you.
Here it is.
The huge arch-shaped structure in the back, Kizu River Sluice Gate.
It is a nationally rare arched sluice gate.
Normally, it remains open as shown in the photo.
So how does it close?
Where I am is downstream.
This sluice falls back toward upstream.
*Please refer to this video to see how the sluice gate is opened and closed.
It takes about 30 minutes to be unloaded slowly.
The sluice gate is opened and closed periodically to check for proper operation.
I, hiikun, have seen them in action, and the way it move is overwhelming.
This sluice gate was completed in November 1970, and is 53 years old this year.
In Osaka City, there are other arched sluice gates of the same size and shape, but of a different color, on the Aji River, which I explain in the article titled “[Tourists must see] I’ll tell you how to get from USJ to Tempozan for free! “, and the Shirinashi River, which runs through Taisho and Minato wards .
Those two arched sluice gates were also completed in 1970.
【 Additional information 】
Please see this video for the opening and closing of the Aji River sluice gate and this video for the opening and closing of the Shirinashi River sluice gate, respectively.
Three arched sluice gates, including the Kizugawa sluice gate, have protected us from many floods up to now.
The best example of this is Typhoon No. 21, which occurred in September 2018.
Many areas were severely damaged by the storm surge generated by the typhoon.
I remember Kansai International Airport was also partially submerged.
It was powerful enough to send a tanker adrift and cause it to crash into the Kansai Airport Liaison Bridge.
We also suffered from power outages caused by the typhoon.
When Typhoon No. 21, which caused extensive damage in many areas, occurred, the Kizu River sluice gate was naturally in operation.
Fortunately, Taisho Ward, where I, hiikun, live, managed to escape submersion.
*Please refer to this video for a view of the Kizu River sluice gate at the time of Typhoon No. 21.
It is also thanks to this Kizu River sluice gate and the Shirinashi River sluice gate.
It is said that without these arched sluice gates, the urban area of Osaka would have been submerged.
I thought they would continue to protect our lives,
I must tell you some unfortunate news.
It has been officially decided that the three major arched sluice gates, including the Kizugawa sluice gate, are going to be demolished
and the new sluice gates will be built.
The reason is aging.
More than 50 years have passed since its completion.
There are doubts as to whether they can withstand a tsunami brought about by a huge Nankai Trough earthquake, which is said to be expected to occur in the near future.
The sluice will be reconstructed with a stronger type of sluice in the future.
In a few years, the arched sluices gate will disappear.
I am really sad to see them go, as I have been familiar with this sluice gate since I was a child.
However, the reconstruction work is necessary for the future of Osaka.
It will be sad for me to see it go, but I look forward to the new sluice gate that will be completed in the future.
Dear readers, if you are interested, why not come and see it before it is demolished?
For more information on the Kizugawa sluice gate, please refer to this video.
This 5-minute video provides an easy-to-understand summary of the Kizugawa sluice gate.
Also, please refer to this article for more information on the reconstruction of the three major arched sluice gates.
Now let’s return to the Nankai Shiomibashi Line.
Tsumori Station
After the stopover, we are back on the Nankai Shiomibashi line.
The next stop is Tsumori Station.
In contrast to the Kizugawa station mentioned earlier, it is located in a residential area.
There is a large park and a high school in front of the station.
The photo was taken slightly off to the right.
Abeno Harukas, which is the second highest building in Japan as of January, 2024, can be seen in the back.
Further along the railroad tracks is Osaka Prefectural Nishinari High School.
When I, hiikun, visited Tsumori station,
I saw several students from Nishinari High School waiting for the train at the station.
To the left of Nishinari High School is Nishinari Park.
It is a place of relaxation for local residents.
There were about five stray cats near the entrance to the park.
Neighborhood children and students from Nishinari High School on their way home from school were playing with the stray cats.
Next is my favorite station on the Nankai Shiomibashi Line.
Nishitenga-chaya Station
I came to Nishitenga-chaya station.
Located in a dense residential area, it offers a taste of old town in Osaka City.
When hearing the word “Nishinari,” most people probably imagine Shin-Imamiya Station, a transfer station between JR and Nankai lines; the area around Tenga-chaya Station, a transfer station between Nankai and Osaka Metro Sakaisuji lines; the “Airin area,” famous for its day laborers; and Tobita Shinchi, the largest brothel district in Japan.
However, even in the same Nishinari Ward, once you reach this area, the atmosphere is rather quiet and calm.
The photo was taken from the railroad crossing a short distance before Nishitenga-chaya Station.
Nishitenga-chaya Station can be seen in the back.
It is a grilled hormone shop located near the station.
It is famous locally.
It was closed when I visited.
I took pictures while no one was around,
On the day of the interview, many locals were coming and going around the station.
I got the impression that it was rather lively.
I love this downtown scenery.
A short distance away from the railroad crossing mentioned earlier, you will come to a rather wide road.
Going straight here, you will reach Route 26, the main road connecting Osaka and Wakayama.
Kishisato Station on the Osaka Metro Yotsubashi Line is located at the confluence with Route 26.
Residents living near this area are likely to use Kishinosato station
instead of Nishi-tenga-chaya station when heading to Namba or Umeda.
Kishisatotamade Station
I arrived at the last stop, Kishisato-Tamade Station.
When I arrived, there were still about 10 passengers waiting to board the return train.
These are the stairs leading to the Shiomibashi Line boarding area.
These are the stairs leading to the Nankai Main Line boarding area.
This is the ticket gate.
Despite being a transfer station for three train lines, there are few pedestrians.
Only regular and local trains stop at this station.
All honor trains such as limited express and express trains pass through.
The Koya Line boarding platform is located at the end of this corridor.
Koya Line boarding area.
There were some passengers waiting on the platform for the outbound train.
However, there are hardly any people on the platform for the up train, where I, hiikun, am located.
Many people heading for Namba or Shin-Imamiya seem to use the Nankai Main Line, which is closer to the ticket gates.
The Shiomibashi Line platform was photographed from the Nankai Main Line boarding platform.
A train bound for Namba has arrived.
Let’s go home.
By the way, the fare from Shiomibashi to Namba is 290 yen.
If you use the Hanshin Namba Line, it costs 220 yen from Sakuragawa to Osaka Namba.
If you use Osaka Metro Sennichimae line, it costs 190 yen from Sakuragawa to Namba.
If you are heading to Namba, it is better to use Hanshin or Osaka Metro.
However, if you want to travel slowly and leisurely without worrying about time and fares,
why not use the Shiomibashi Line?
【Extra】 Nankai Namba Station
After I finished covering the Shiomibashi Line, I moved to Namba.
I came to Nankai Namba Station for the first time in about four and a half years.
I did not plan to do this at first, but I felt excited to see so many trains that I photographed them.
Please take a look at the photos of the Namba station.
Many foreign travelers were waiting in front of the Rapito.
They were carrying many bags of souvenirs.
Perhaps they will return home.
I hope they will come to Osaka again.
This photo was taken from the Koya Line boarding area.
Every time I renew my driver’s license, I take the train bound for “Izumichuo, which stops at the very front of the train,
to go to “Koumyouike” station, which is the nearest station to the Koumyouike Motor Vehicle Testing Center.
I am scheduled to renew my license next year, so I will probably take this train again.
The station was crowded with many passengers as it was the rush hour to return home.
When I see an electric destination board, I feel like going somewhere far away.
I went outside the station.
The ceiling is very high, giving a sense of spaciousness, yet not too bright and just the right amount of calm.
Do you remember when there used to be a “rocket square” near the station?
Young people today may not know this.
A huge rocket (33 meters high and weighing 18 tons) is installed.
It was famous as a typical meeting place in Osaka’s Minami district.
*Some quotes from Sankei Shimbun online article (March 18, 2019)
When I, hiikun, was a child, I thought that one day that rocket would be launched from the plaza.
(It can’t happen that way, but…).
After exiting the ticket gate, go to the left and you will find the entrance to Swissôtel Nankai Osaka.
It’s convenient because you can go there right after getting off the train.
Swissôtel Nankai Osaka
A new hotel is located where the New Kabuki-za Theater once stood.
*By the way, the New Kabuki-za has moved to Uehonmachi.
Hotel Royal Classic Osaka
Finally, I photographed the exterior of Namba Station and Takashimaya Department Store.
It was a short but enjoyable tour along the Shiomibashi Line.
summary
I hope you enjoyed reading this article about the scenery and attractions along the Nankai Shiomibashi Line.
Let’s look back at the article.
The Shiomibashi Station area, which is the starting point of the project, faces an arterial road leading to Namba, Kyocera Dome, and the Kita area of Osaka. Therefore, the area gives the impression of being relatively bustling with cars and people coming and going.
However, from Ashihara-cho, the next stop, to Kishisato-Tamade, the last stop, the train runs in a relatively quiet area.
In particular, the area around Kizugawa Station is almost as unpopular as the unexplored areas of the countryside, giving off a unique atmosphere.
There is also a free public ferry and a huge arched sluice gate between Kizugawa and Tsumori stations.
The areas around Tsumori and Nishitenga-chaya stations are quiet residential areas with an old town atmosphere.
The train then arrives at Kishisato-Tamade, a transfer station with the Nankai Main Line and the Koya Line.
In this way, the Nankai Shiomibashi Line has a quiet and serene atmosphere that makes us wonder if the line really runs through Osaka City, and it is an attractive line that evokes a sense of nostalgia.
The route is less than 5 kilometers long and is packed with attractions along the way.
We encourage all readers to take a ride if you have the chance.
Thank you very much for reading to the end.
