YORO STATION (GIFU)
Cosy station a trip down memory lane
| People chat in front of Yoro Station in the late afternoon. At left is Chitose, a coffee shop that harks back to yesteryear. |
| Chitose customers are seen off as was done in years gone by. |
| Gourds, a symbol of Yorocho, are hung on display from the station platform roof. |
| Reversible Destiny-Yoro Park, a 10-minute walk from the station, is a theme park at the foot of the mountains that challenges the senses. |
Photos by Yomiuri Shimbun Photographer Yoshikazu Okunishi
By Hajime Someya
Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
The word "Coffee" was written on an old russet-colored door in the corner of the waiting room of Yoro Station on the Kintetsu Yoro Line. When I opened the door, an uncanny feeling of deja vu came over me.
Inside were six timeworn tables, and a handwritten menu was posted on the wall. In the corner sat a vintage wooden phonograph, about a meter tall. The coffee shop "Chitose" had a nostalgic air, reminiscent of shops from old Japanese films.
Fusajiro Ito, 81, sipped his coffee by an oil heater.
"I've been coming here for more than 50 years," he said. "After the war, there was no other place that served coffee in this country town. I didn't like coffee at first--it was too bitter and tasted like medicine, I thought."
Ito was drafted just before World War II ended. After enduring several years of oppressive cold in Siberia while being held by the Soviets, he returned home to Gifu Prefecture in 1948. He settled down in Yorocho because his brother-in-law ran a sawmill and lumberyard near Yoro Station.
"I thought the time would come when we could enjoy drinking coffee. It seemed a pretty cool thing to do back then," he said with a smile.
It was odd to hear that drinking coffee at a station was "cool" in Yorocho, a town famous for its sake.
According to local lore, a man found some sake on a nearby mountain and gave it to his elderly father. After drinking the sake, the old man regained his vitality and vigor.
When it was built in the early Taisho era (1912-1926), the station building had a modern look with its Japanese-style tiled roof and Western-looking dome-shaped windows. It still retains an air of sophistication.
Taro Yoshioka, 72-year-old owner of Chitose, said, "We can hardly hope to make a profit because only one or two trains come in each hour."
"But when the shop is closed, the place looks deserted and is completely without light. I just can't bring myself to close my shop," he said, gazing at the platform through the window pensively.
(February. 3, 2006)
JAPANESE
The Daily Yomiuri, The Yomiuri Shimbun
