Saiin Station
Encyclopedia
Hankyu is the 22nd station along the Hankyu Railway
Kyoto Line, which departs from Osaka
's Umeda Station
and terminates at Kyoto
's Kawaramachi Station
. It is the 4th to last station before reaching Kawaramachi station.
Saiin Station is serviced by , , , and trains, while trains do not service the station. The subterranean station is windy, as it has only one entrance, and arriving and departing trains force air up and down the station's narrow pair of staircases.
Many travellers stop at Saiin Station in order to take a the #205 city bus to Kinkakuji and Sai Station (Keifuku Electric Railroad
Co., Ltd., written in the same kanji, 西院駅) local train to Arashiyama
.
, Kyoto Prefecture
, Japan
. Saiin Station is located in Saiin Kōzanji-chō, Ukyō-ku
, Kyoto.
) was completed, the station was moved from the ground level to the underground facilities and renamed Saiin Station.
At the time of the construction, a plan was tabled to link Saiin Station with the smaller and older Sai Station (located 1 minutes walking distance east on Shijo street) by means of an underground path, but the plan was eventually scrapped, due to strong opposition from people living in the area.
, and fast food locations lie within short walking distance of the station. These Fast Food locations include:
McDonalds,
Mos Burger
, Baskin Robbins 31
, Matsuya and Yoshinoya
.
, and Joshin Electronics
A Watts 100 yen store is located directly above Saiin station's entrance.
(2), 7 Eleven (1), Circle K
(2), and Family Mart
. They primarily sell food and other daily necessities. This includes a large range of meals, snacks and sweets, such as onigiri (rice balls), sandwiches, bread, chips, candy, obento (lunch boxes), instant ramen, microwave meals and hot foods like fried chicken, nikuman and oden. Some cold foods, such as onigiri, can be heated up by the store staff. Many kinds of hot and cold beverages including soda, coffee, tea, water, sport drinks, juice, milk and vitamin drinks are also available. The selection changes frequently and often varies by season as well. Many convenience stores also sell alcoholic beverages including beer, happoshu, chuhai, nihonshu, shochu and wine. Other goods available include body care products, cosmetics, batteries, blank CDs and tapes, umbrellas, newspapers, magazines and comics. Some stores, particularly outside of the city centers, have a toilet. Many automated services are also offered, and can be accessed through multi-purpose terminals. (The user menu is usually in Japanese only.) There is ATM service, Copier/Fax machines, ticket reservations kiosks (tickets for sporting events, concerts, theme parks, highway buses, etc.), digital camera print machines, bill payment, and even delivery services are widely available.
Sai Station, a smaller older station (constructed in 1910) on the Keifuku Electric Railroad Co. Arashiyama Line uses romantic old-fashioned trains to shuttle tourists to Arashiyama, a desirable locale with beautiful mountain paths and scenic vistas. The local suttle trains are renowned for their spring time Cherry Blossom viewing tours.
(a form of legally tolerated gambling establishment) are located within walking distance of Saiin Station.
Hankyu Railway
is a Japanese private railway that provides commuter and interurban service to the northern Kansai region and is one of major businesses operated by Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc. The railway's main terminal is at Umeda Station in Osaka...
Kyoto Line, which departs from Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
's Umeda Station
Umeda Station
is a railway station located in Kita-ku in the northern commercial center of Osaka, Japan. It is the busiest station in Western Japan, serving 2,343,727 passengers daily in 2005.Umeda Station is served by the following railways:...
and terminates at Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
's Kawaramachi Station
Kawaramachi Station (Kyoto)
is the terminal station of the Hankyu Kyoto Line of Hankyu Railway in Kyoto, Japan. The Kawaramachi and Shijo streets cross over the underground station. Gion-Shijo Station on the Keihan Railway Keihan Line is located beyond the Kamo River....
. It is the 4th to last station before reaching Kawaramachi station.
Saiin Station is serviced by , , , and trains, while trains do not service the station. The subterranean station is windy, as it has only one entrance, and arriving and departing trains force air up and down the station's narrow pair of staircases.
Many travellers stop at Saiin Station in order to take a the #205 city bus to Kinkakuji and Sai Station (Keifuku Electric Railroad
Keifuku Electric Railroad
is a railroad company based in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan in operation since March 2, 1942. It is a parent company of Keifuku Bus, and an affiliated company of Keihan Electric Railway, which owns 42.89% of the company stock...
Co., Ltd., written in the same kanji, 西院駅) local train to Arashiyama
Arashiyama
is a district on the western outskirts of Kyoto, Japan. It also refers to the mountain across the Ōi River, which forms a backdrop to the district.Notable tourist sites in Arashiyama include...
.
Location
Saiin station's singular entrance is situated on the southwest corner of Shijo street and Nishioji street in KyotoKyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, Kyoto Prefecture
Kyoto Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Kyoto.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Kyoto prefecture was known as Yamashiro....
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Saiin Station is located in Saiin Kōzanji-chō, Ukyō-ku
Ukyo-ku, Kyoto
is one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The word , as opposed to , refers to the western half of the ancient capital of Heiankyō – the palace faced south, hence west was to the right...
, Kyoto.
History
Saiin Station opened as on November 1, 1928. At the time of opening, the station was the terminus of the Shinkeihan Railway, a former operator of the Hankyu Kyoto Line. On March 31, 1931 when the underground extension from Saiin to Keihan Kyoto Station (present-day Ōmiya StationOmiya Station (Kyoto)
is a railway station built underground in Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan. Hankyu Kyoto Line serves this station. Keifuku Electric Railroad Arashiyama Main Line terminus Shijo-Omiya Station locates nearby....
) was completed, the station was moved from the ground level to the underground facilities and renamed Saiin Station.
At the time of the construction, a plan was tabled to link Saiin Station with the smaller and older Sai Station (located 1 minutes walking distance east on Shijo street) by means of an underground path, but the plan was eventually scrapped, due to strong opposition from people living in the area.
Dining
A variety of quaint restaurants, izakayaIzakaya
An is a type of Japanese drinking establishment which also serves food to accompany the drinks. They are popular, casual places for after-work drinking.-Name:...
, and fast food locations lie within short walking distance of the station. These Fast Food locations include:
McDonalds,
Mos Burger
MOS Burger
, doing business as , is a fast-food restaurant chain that originated in Japan. It is now the second-largest fast-food franchise in Japan after McDonald's, and owns numerous overseas outlets over East Asia, including Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, and until 2005, Hawaii...
, Baskin Robbins 31
Baskin-Robbins
Baskin-Robbins is a global chain of ice cream parlors founded by Burt Baskin and Irvine Robbins in 1953, from the merging of their respective ice cream parlors, in Glendale, California. It claims to be the world's largest ice cream franchise, with more than 5,800 locations, 2,800 of which are...
, Matsuya and Yoshinoya
Yoshinoya
Yoshinoya is the largest chain of beef bowl restaurants and one of the Japanese chains of fast food, which was established in Japan in 1899. Its motto is "Tasty, low-priced, and quick"...
.
Retail
A few large retail outlets and a variety of small shops line the streets surrounding Saiin Station. These large retail outlets include: Diamond City HanaDiamond City Hana
Diamond City Hana, a large shopping center, is part of the Japanese Diamond City chain of shopping centers. Diamond City Hana houses a wide selection of popular retail stores, a Jusco department store, numerous restaurants, fast food shops, and a large game center.-Location:Diamond city Hana is...
, and Joshin Electronics
A Watts 100 yen store is located directly above Saiin station's entrance.
Convenience Stores
There are many convenience stores within a 2 or 3 minute walk of Saiin Station. The most popular include LawsonLawson (store)
Lawson, Inc. is a convenience store franchise chain in Japan. The store originated in the U.S. State of Ohio, but today exists as a Japanese company and is the second largest convenience store chain in the country....
(2), 7 Eleven (1), Circle K
Circle K Sunkus
' is a chain of company-operated and franchised convenience stores in Japan. The company is a division of UNY Co., Ltd., which licensed the Circle K name from Alimentation Couche-Tard, a Canadian convenience store company that owns the Circle K brand....
(2), and Family Mart
FamilyMart
is a convenience store franchise chain first opened in Japan on September 1, 1981. FamilyMart is Japan's third largest convenience store chain, behind 7-Eleven and Lawson, and the largest chain store in South Korea. FamilyMart is owned and overseen by FamilyMart Company, Limited...
. They primarily sell food and other daily necessities. This includes a large range of meals, snacks and sweets, such as onigiri (rice balls), sandwiches, bread, chips, candy, obento (lunch boxes), instant ramen, microwave meals and hot foods like fried chicken, nikuman and oden. Some cold foods, such as onigiri, can be heated up by the store staff. Many kinds of hot and cold beverages including soda, coffee, tea, water, sport drinks, juice, milk and vitamin drinks are also available. The selection changes frequently and often varies by season as well. Many convenience stores also sell alcoholic beverages including beer, happoshu, chuhai, nihonshu, shochu and wine. Other goods available include body care products, cosmetics, batteries, blank CDs and tapes, umbrellas, newspapers, magazines and comics. Some stores, particularly outside of the city centers, have a toilet. Many automated services are also offered, and can be accessed through multi-purpose terminals. (The user menu is usually in Japanese only.) There is ATM service, Copier/Fax machines, ticket reservations kiosks (tickets for sporting events, concerts, theme parks, highway buses, etc.), digital camera print machines, bill payment, and even delivery services are widely available.
Historical sites
Kozaiji Temple A small, but beautiful temple is located directly across from Saiin Station, on the north east corner of Nishioji street and Shijo Street, less than 1 minutes walking distance.Sai Station, a smaller older station (constructed in 1910) on the Keifuku Electric Railroad Co. Arashiyama Line uses romantic old-fashioned trains to shuttle tourists to Arashiyama, a desirable locale with beautiful mountain paths and scenic vistas. The local suttle trains are renowned for their spring time Cherry Blossom viewing tours.
Gaming
Several Pachinko ParlorsPachinko
is a type of game originating in Japan, and used as both a form of recreational arcade game and much more frequently as a gambling device, filling a niche in gambling in Japan comparable to that of the slot machine in Western gambling. A pachinko machine resembles a vertical pinball machine, but...
(a form of legally tolerated gambling establishment) are located within walking distance of Saiin Station.