Wakayama Electric Railway Kishigawa Line (Tama trains & Kishi Station)
A 14.3-kilometre local line ending at a station shaped like a cat's face.
piggybackjapan.com
Wakayama Electric Railway Kishigawa Line (Tama trains & Kishi Station)
SaveA 14.3-kilometre local line ending at a station shaped like a cat's face.
A shrine to Tama, the first cat stationmaster, stands on the platform at the end of the line.
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- ElevatorElevator：not checked
- Stroller OKStroller friendly：not checked
- RentalStroller rental：not checked
- NursingNursing space：not checked
- ChangingDiaper changing table：not checked
- Diaper binDiaper disposal bin：not checked
- Family WCFamily restroom：not checked
- Kids' toiletKids' toilet seat & step stool：not checked
- Own foodOutside food allowed：not checked
- EnglishEnglish support：not checked
Green = we confirmed it. Grey = not checked yet. Grey with a line through = the place does not have it.
Near here
Worth a look before you go
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Two years old: the Wakayama Electric Railway Tama train
Three to four hours with a two-year-old via Kishi and Itakiso. Trains run every 30 minutes; stamps at four points.
ameblo.jp2024
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
How to spend time at Kishi Station, and the other trains: Wakayama Electric Railway, an aside
April 2026: a shop one side, cafe and toilet the other. The stationmaster sits in the passage, but the crowd hid him.
note.com2026
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
A day pass and a wander down the Kishigawa Line
The day pass rose from 800 to 1,200 yen on 1 July 2026. They hopped off for three shrines; Yontama was asleep inside.
Wakayama Electric Railway Kishigawa Line (Tama trains & Kishi Station) · Links & reads ▾
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Basics
- Fee：Wakayama to Kishi, the whole line, is ¥480 for an adult and ¥240 for a child one way. Child fare covers ages 6 to 11 (primary school) and is half the adult fare, rounded up to the nearest ¥10. Children aged 1 to 5 who are not yet at school travel free, two per accompanying passenger aged 6 or over; from the third child on, and for a small child travelling alone, the child fare applies. A one-day pass is ¥1,200 adult, ¥600 child — worth it if you ride the line more than there and back, for instance stopping at Idakiso as well. No IC cards; cash only on board, at the platform 9 window and at Kishi.■
- Hours：Trains run from early morning to late evening: from Kishi towards Wakayama the first is 5:28 and the last through service 22:16, with a 23:00 train as far as Idakiso.■
- Time needed：30 min
- Booking：No booking. Pay the fare on board — take a numbered ticket when you get on at an intermediate station and put it in the fare box by the driver as you get off. A one-day pass costs ¥1,200 for adults and ¥600 for children and is sold all year at the platform 9 window at Wakayama station, the Idakiso station window (9:00-17:30), the Tama Cafe and Tama Shop at Kishi station during their opening hours, and the Wakayama Bus pass office at JR Wakayama. It cannot be bought from JR ticket machines. There is also a web ticket that needs no download, and digital versions in the RYDE PASS and Kansai MaaS apps. With a paper pass you write the date on it yourself in permanent ink and show it to the driver as you get off.■Official booking site ↗
evidence & sources (3)
The line runs 14.3 kilometres to Kishi in about half an hour. Tama, the first cat stationmaster, took the post in 2007 and died in 2015. A small shrine to Tama now stands on the Kishi platform. Nitama, who succeeded her as Tama II, died in 2025, and the Kishi stationmaster now is Yontama. The station building is roofed in cypress bark in the shape of a cat's face. Five different trains work the line; the Tama train carries 101 painted cats and a shelf of picture books.
| Stroller friendly | Not checked yet | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diaper changing table | Not checked yet | ||||
| Nursing space | Not checked yet | ||||
| Family restroom | Not checked yet | ||||
| Diaper disposal bin | Not checked yet | ||||
| Kids' toilet seat & step stool | Not checked yet | ||||
| Elevator | Not checked yet | ||||
| Indoor / outdoor | Indoor & outdoor | You are on a train and then on an open single platform at Kishi. The station building holds the cafe, the shop and the stationmaster's room; the Tama shrine stands on the platform itself. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | wakayama-dentetsu.co.jp |
| English support | Not checked yet | ||||
| Outside food allowed | Not checked yet | ||||
| Best-fit ages (guide)Extra info — guide only | Yes | Children aged 1 to 5 ride free, two per adult. The cat stationmasters work 10:00-16:00 and each has fixed days off: Yontama, the Kishi stationmaster, is off Wednesday and Thursday; Gotama is off Monday and Friday and works at Idakiso; Rokutama, the trainee, is at Kishi on Wednesday and Thursday. Illness or heat can add an unscheduled day off. They stay inside the stationmaster's room all day, never come out, and cannot be touched; they usually wear no uniform or cap. Do not tap the glass to wake a sleeping cat, and no flash photography. Which of the five trains turns up differs by day, and some are out of service. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | wakayama-dentetsu.co.jp |
| Stroller access notesExtra info — guide only | Yes | Kishi station has no car park, and parking on the street is not allowed — by car, park at Wakayama or Idakiso and take the train. Trains leave from platform 9 at JR Wakayama, but this is a separate company, not JR. One-man operation, two cars: board by the rear door of the first car (the second car's doors do not open), take a numbered ticket at intermediate stations, and get off by the front door of the first car past the driver. No numbered tickets are issued at Wakayama or Kishi. IC cards do not work anywhere on the line; it is cash on board, at the platform 9 window and at Kishi. A change machine sits at the front of the leading car. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | wakayama-dentetsu.co.jp |
| Official family-friendly certificationExtra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Crowding (guide)Extra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Quietness (guide)Extra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Lost-child supportExtra info — guide only | Not checked yet |
Not checked yet (4)
Official family-friendly certification, Crowding (guide), Quietness (guide), Lost-child support