Saturday, April 1, 2023

Maruoka Train Station

Day Two of my long weekend trip - I left my hotel in Tsuruga and took the train to Maruoka.  The train station there is very interesting.  No one works there, it is an unmanned (unpersoned?) station.  You can buy your ticket from a little machine. Trains are infrequent, but no problem if you have to wait because there are many things to look at. 


This Maruoka Castle replica shows the castle which is the reason that I stopped at this station.










This is a ticket collection box.  No one litters at the train station.



There are two platforms.  To get to the second platform, you have to climb the steps, cross the tracks, and go down the other side. If you have mobility issues, this is not the station for you.






According to Google Maps, the castle is a 56 minute walk from the train station. Buses are few and far between and taxis are expensive, so I chose to walk.  It was a beautiful day, anyway.




Here are a few of the things I saw along the way to the castle.



I'm still wondering what this is.  Maybe some kind of mascot?




This is a drink machine - I don't know what the message is about.







Next post will be about visiting Maruoka Castle, which is one of the remaining twelve original castles in Japan.

6 comments:

Vireya said...

I think the terminology these days is "unstaffed" stations.

Beautiful display of dolls at the station.

catarina said...

There are 12 original castles? I thought that there were only three. I've been to Mastumoto and Matsue.

Anonymous said...

Maruoka Station is an unmanned station, but it seems to be full of feelings to welcome visitors.
Investigate strange objects. The true identity is “Scarecrow.”😵
A scarecrow contest is held in this area every year, and the winner's scarecrows are displayed.
The scarecrow in the photo is a deer. Deer….?.
It's a deer because it says
its a deer.

jocondine said...

Such an interesting post, thanks to share your pictures with us. Can't wait to see the castle, the trip is already great! xxx

Queeniepatch said...

Railway stations are interesting in Japan. Many have some unique feature or an unusual display.
At my local station here in Tokyo, a flower arrangement teacher comes every week to make a very formal and beautiful flower arrangement.

Leonore Winterer said...

I'm not sure why, but this post really made me miss Japan. So many interesting things to do and see!