Kitami Station (Tokyo)
Layout
The new station consists of two elevated side platforms and four tracks. Express trains typically bypass the station on the two innermost tracks while local trains typically stop at the station on the two outermost tracks. Kitami station's facilities are located on the ground floor. There are commercial and food establishments under the train tracks on either side of the concourse.
History
Kitami Station was opened on 1 April 1927.
Throughout the 1990s it was extensively redeveloped as part of the Odakyu Line's track doubling project. Previous to the redevelopment, the platforms were on ground level and linked by an overhead bridge.
Station numbering was introduced in January 2014 with Kitami being assigned station number OH15.
Surroundings
The station lies in a residential area. There is a koban immediately outside the North Exit and a supermarket to the south. A neighbourhood shopping street stretches south. The Odakyu Railway's Kitami train depot lies to the east, alongside the Nogawa river.
There is a Catholic church to the north of the station. It was built in the early 20th century by Tsurumatsu Toshimitsu, the founder of Odakyu, for his daughter.
The name of the area, Kitami, is thought to originate from an ancient Ainu word meaning "flat, wooded place".