Do you remember my post about Kamata Station two years ago? Today, I’d like to share a similar anniversary celebration at its neighboring station.
Ōmori is a station on the Keihin-Tōhoku Line. It is about 10 kilometers from Tokyo Station, and one stop closer to Tokyo than Kamata Station. Ōmori and Kamata are both located in convenient commercial and residential areas, so I think of them as something like brothers.
Two years after Kamata Station celebrated its 120th anniversary, Ōmori Station recently celebrated its 150th. In commemoration, JR East and local residents organized a variety of events.
Hold on, that’s weird. I still remember that Kamata Station celebrated its 120th anniversary two years ago, but why was its neighboring station, Ōmori, celebrating its 150th anniversary this year?
After looking into it, I realized for the first time just how different the histories of the two stations are. Kamata was opened near a famous plum-viewing spot in 1904. Ōmori, on the other hand, was inaugurated on the site of a former railway employees’ office in 1876—28 years before Kamata. I didn’t know that until now. I still have a lot to learn.
Let’s move on. One of the events marking the 150th anniversary is a commemorative headmark on Set “150” of the E233-1000 series EMU (see the photo above). Take a close look at the shell illustration at the bottom of the headmark.
In fact, Ōmori is famous for its shell mound (see the photo below). It is a shell midden left by our ancestors roughly 6,000 to 4,500 years ago. It was discovered by American zoologist Edward Sylvester Morse in 1877 and was later designated a National Historic Site of Japan. He spotted it from a train as it passed by the site. What an amazing eye he had!
The railway also played an important role in the early days of Japanese archaeology.
Congratulations on the 150th anniversary of Ōmori Station!
