European and American-style Train Stations in Japan (Terrain Ideas)

[Sakuragi Miniatures]

If you wanted to make a Japanese board with a train station but all you have is European or American terrain, you may already have a suitable station in your collection! A number of stations were influenced by foreign designs, so I?m sharing some I?ve been to that may spark ideas to use what?s already in your terrain closet/storage room.


Saikai City?s Hamaderakoen Station opened in 1907, though the original building is now a historic annex. Of note, it was designed by Tatsuno Kingo who also designed Tokyo Station.


Mojiko Station opened in 1914 and was the original terminus for Kyushu railway travel; as such it had to look appropriate for visiting dignitaries, not to mention the Emperor and Albert Einstein. Before bridges and tunnels were built, ferries crossed the Kanmon Strait from Shimonoseki to Mojiko (Moji Port), which was also part of the terminal?s importance. Along with Tokyo Station, its one of the two train stations designated an Important Cultural Property.


This is Nagahama Station, Japan?s oldest still-standing station and it opened in 1882. Its original importance was connecting the railway with ferry service across Lake Biwa. The old station is now a railway museum and is mostly preserved as it was during the turn of the century.


This is a scaled down replica of the stick-style Sapporo Station which was built in 1908 and lasted until around 1950. It?s the entrance to Kaitaku no Mura (Pioneer Village), a collection of preserved historic buildings from Hokkaido?s frontier past.

[Sakuragi Miniatures]

I forgot to share Dogo Onsen Station; the current station is a replica of the 1911 station. This station is near one of the onsens that inspired the bathhouse in "Spirited Away." Of note, is that the original train line used tiny German trains built for intercity use, like a tram but train shaped. A replica of that can be ridden as a normal train every day!

[Peithetairos]

These posts are super interesting. Keep them coming. I look forward to my next Japan trip, maybe I can visit the Onsen station. Seems pretty unique.

[Sakuragi Miniatures]

These posts are super interesting. Keep them coming. I look forward to my next Japan trip, maybe I can visit the Onsen station. Seems pretty unique.

I'm glad you're enjoying it, I want to help bring Japan to more table tops and share it's history.

Dogo Onsen Station is in Matsuyama, Ehime Pref. and that city is worth the visit! Matsuyama Castle is a beautiful and original hilltop overlooking the city, in addition to the castle there's also a garden on the grounds. It's probably the second or third best original castle after Himeji and is on-par with Matsumoto. Dogo Onsen is also one of my favorite onsens because its so old-fashioned inside and out, and the waters are great. If you've read Botchan by Natsume Soseki, that onsen is featured in it and you can visit the room Natsume used to stay in when he visited. You can read about my visit here: https://www.wayfarerdaves.com/a-holiday-in-shikoku-part-i/



Dogo Onsen

[carlos marighela]

How about this one?

Just requires an extremely patient dog parked outside.

[Sakuragi Miniatures]

How about this one?

Just requires an extremely patient dog parked outside.

Thats a good one too! I don't think I've seen the old Shibuya Station before. I like the old red bricks, like Tokyo Station, but those may be too massive to recreate. Shibuya looks atleast partially doable.

[Sakuragi Miniatures]

I forgot the classic, the old Harajuku Station which operated from 1924 until closing in 2020 for being too small. It's been replaced by a boring glass and steel thing. Still, it kind of reminds me of a small British station.

[carlos marighela]

In the late 19thC and early 20th C there were a lot of plans for railway stations that did the rounds internationally . A number of architectural firms seem to have sold the same plans  or very nearly the same plans to a variety of clients, often far afield. Even when they weren't designed by the same architect, there was quite a bit of borrowing from other examples.

 I give the example of two stations I know quite well. The first one is the Luz Station in Sao Paulo, the second is Flinders Street Station in Melbourne. They are near mirror images.

[Michi]

I bought a plastic kit of the first Japanese steam train in (I think) 1/45th scale and converted it to running stock for my powered gaming table. It was an easy conversion and fun to do. The train does look British, therefore it is rather generic for either UK or some colonies.
It would perfectly suit Japanese branch lines on gaming tables for the 19th century period too, as the prototype was built in Europe and sent to Japan.
I forgot who made the kit, but probably a few are still obtainable out there.









The engine housing was put on a Hornby 00 gauge chassis, however wheel arrangement is inverted now (original was 2-4-0):






Foldable gaming table for generic railway action:

[Freddy]

Wow, that train looks very cool!

[Sakuragi Miniatures]

I bought a plastic kit of the first Japanese steam train in (I think) 1/45th scale and converted it to running stock for my powered gaming table. It was an easy conversion and fun to do. The train does look British, therefore it is rather generic for either UK or some colonies.
It would perfectly suit Japanese branch lines on gaming tables for the 19th century period too, as the prototype was built in Europe and sent to Japan.
I forgot who made the kit, but probably a few are still obtainable out there.









The engine housing was put on a Hornby 00 gauge chassis, however wheel arrangement is inverted now (original was 2-4-0):






Foldable gaming table for generic railway action:

I recognize that, those were built by the Yorkshire Engine Co. in England. I've seen two of them in person, one is complete with a replica carriage that it would have pulled when operations began in 1872. The engines themselves look a little different now due to an update in the 1890s. If you've an interest in trains, the first Japanese railroad was between Yokohama Station (now Sakuragicho Station) and Shimbashi Station; this train below is by Sakuragicho Station and was originally No. 10.

[Triarii]

Thanks for the pictures. I'm putting some generic Chinese / Japanese terrain for BoB and Pulp Alley, for c. 1880 to 1930. It's all good stuff to give me ideas. What I can't seem to find are distinctive enough buildings for the 20s / 30s.

[Sakuragi Miniatures]

Thanks for the pictures. I'm putting some generic Chinese / Japanese terrain for BoB and Pulp Alley, for c. 1880 to 1930. It's all good stuff to give me ideas. What I can't seem to find are distinctive enough buildings for the 20s / 30s.

You can't go wrong with art deco!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Art_Deco_architecture_in_Japan

I'll share photos shortly.

I'm working on an art deco "bus station" that will find itself useful as any number of buildings.

[Sakuragi Miniatures]

Here are some surviving art deco buildings from the 1920s and 1930s I've seen around the country, hopefully they'll give you some ideas for your own gaming table.



Dalian Route Warehouse No. 1 (1929)
Mojiko, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture


Hotel New Grand (1927)
Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture



Kure Naval District Petty Officers' Club (1935)
Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture


Nintendo Headquarters (1930)
Kyoto


Osaka Gas Building (1933)
Osaka


Shibakawa Building (1927)
Osaka


Shimonoseki Telephone and Telegraph Office (1924)
Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture
Currently the Kinuyo Tanaka Museum


Tokiwadai Photo Studio (1937)
Koganei, Tokyo
Preserved at the Edo-Tokyo Tatemono architectural park



Not art deco but from the 1930s

Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen Station (1933)
Closed since 1997

[carlos marighela]

The Osaka Gas building is a rather elegant bit of art moderne. The Shibakawa Building looks a lot like Art Deco meets Pizza Hut.

I still can't believe that Nintendo have been knocking out consoles for that long. The Nintendo '34 eh? Comes preloaded with Super Mario Brothers and the Invasion of Manchuria.