Umi-Shibaura Station
Encyclopedia
is a railway station operated by East Japan Railway Company
(JR East) in Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama
, Kanagawa Prefecture
, Japan
.
of the Umi-Shibaura branch of the Tsurumi Line
, and lies 4.7 kilometers from the terminus at Tsurumi Station
.
, located on the waterfront of Tokyo Bay
, serves one line for both inbound and outbound trains. The exit is located opposite the buffer stop
, with simplified Suica
terminals and a ticket disposal box. There is also an automatic ticket machine.
on July 1, 1943, and was later absorbed into the Japan National Railway (JNR) network. The station has been unattended since March 1, 1971, although the adjacent Toshiba guardhouse is staffed 24 hours a day. Upon the privatization
of the Japan National Railways (JNR) on April 1, 1987 the station has been operated by JR East. In 2000, Umi-Shibaura Station was selected as one of the top 100 stations in the Kantō region
by a public poll conducted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
's Keihin Product Operations, and the only exit from the station is into the company's grounds. As a result, only Toshiba employees with valid employee ID cards and invited visitors are permitted to enter and exit the station. Toshiba owns the land beneath the station and the surrounding portion of the Tsurumi Line, and JR East operates both under a long-term lease
. Because of the surrounding scenery, and its status as "the station which you can never leave", Umi-Shibaura has been featured in several books and television programs and has gained some popularity as a day-trip destination. Toshiba has catered to these tourists by constructing a small park (Shibaura Park) within the station for employees and waiting passengers; it is open to the public and has a sweeping view of the surrounding sea.
East Japan Railway Company
is the largest passenger railway company in the world and one of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo....
(JR East) in Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama
Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama
is one of the 18 wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 270,433 and a density of 8,140 persons per km²...
, Kanagawa Prefecture
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...
, 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...
.
Lines
Umi-Shibaura station is the terminusTerminal Station
Terminal Station is a 1953 film by Italian director Vittorio De Sica. It tells the story of the love affair between an Italian man and an American woman. The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.-Production:...
of the Umi-Shibaura branch of the Tsurumi Line
Tsurumi Line
The is a railway line operated by East Japan Railway Company in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It provides passenger service along a 7 km between Tsurumi Station in Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama and Ōgimachi Station in Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki. Branches bring the total length of track to 9.7 km. The...
, and lies 4.7 kilometers from the terminus at Tsurumi Station
Tsurumi Station
is a railway station operated by JR East located in Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is an interchange between the Keihin-Tōhoku Line and the Tsurumi Line , and is 52.0 kilometers from the terminus of the Keihin-Tōhoku Line at Ōmiya Station...
.
Station layout
A single side platformSide platform
A Side platform is a platform positioned to the side of a pair of tracks at a railway station, a tram stop or a transitway. A pair of side platforms are often provided on a dual track line with a single side platform being sufficient for a single track line...
, located on the waterfront of Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay
is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...
, serves one line for both inbound and outbound trains. The exit is located opposite the buffer stop
Buffer stop
A buffer stop or bumper is a device to prevent railway vehicles from going past the end of a physical section of track.The design of the buffer stop is dependent in part upon the kind of couplings that the railway uses, since the coupling gear is the first part of the vehicle that the buffer stop...
, with simplified Suica
Suica
is a rechargeable contactless smart card used as a fare card on train lines in Japan. Launched in November 2001, the card is usable currently in the Kantō region, at JR East stations near Sendai and Niigata...
terminals and a ticket disposal box. There is also an automatic ticket machine.
Platforms
Adjacent stations
Service
Umi-Shibaura is served hourly during off-peak times (midday, night and weekends), with more frequent services during morning and evening rush hours.History
Umi-Shibaura Station was opened on November 1, 1940 as a station on a spur line of the privately-held . The Tsurumi Rinkō line was nationalizedNationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
on July 1, 1943, and was later absorbed into the Japan National Railway (JNR) network. The station has been unattended since March 1, 1971, although the adjacent Toshiba guardhouse is staffed 24 hours a day. Upon the privatization
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
of the Japan National Railways (JNR) on April 1, 1987 the station has been operated by JR East. In 2000, Umi-Shibaura Station was selected as one of the top 100 stations in the Kantō region
Kanto region
The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain....
by a public poll conducted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
Surrounding area
The station is located on the grounds of ToshibaToshiba
is a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...
's Keihin Product Operations, and the only exit from the station is into the company's grounds. As a result, only Toshiba employees with valid employee ID cards and invited visitors are permitted to enter and exit the station. Toshiba owns the land beneath the station and the surrounding portion of the Tsurumi Line, and JR East operates both under a long-term lease
Lease
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee to pay the lessor for use of an asset. A rental agreement is a lease in which the asset is tangible property...
. Because of the surrounding scenery, and its status as "the station which you can never leave", Umi-Shibaura has been featured in several books and television programs and has gained some popularity as a day-trip destination. Toshiba has catered to these tourists by constructing a small park (Shibaura Park) within the station for employees and waiting passengers; it is open to the public and has a sweeping view of the surrounding sea.