Some time ago, there was news that the record for the highest number of people with the same name gathered in one place had been overturned. While same names are not uncommon in the field of personal names, there is actually a similar story in the field of station names.
There are three JR Okubo and Shiroishi stations.
Of course, from the perspective of avoiding confusion, it is preferable that station names not overlap. That is why the JNR-JR group often names stations in such a way that they do not overlap with existing stations as much as possible.
For example, Mutsu-Yokohama Station on the Ominato Line in Aomori Prefecture is named for Yokohama Station in Kanagawa Prefecture. For example, Mutsu Yokohama Station on the Ominato Line in Aomori Prefecture is named after Yokohama Station in Kanagawa Prefecture, while Mutsu Yokohama Station on the Ominato Line in Aomori Prefecture is named after Yokohama Station in Kanagawa Prefecture, etc. Outside the JR Group, some stations are named after company offices, such as Sagamihara Station on the Odakyu Odawara Line in Odakyu Sagamihara Station on the JR Yokohama Line.
However, exceptions to this rule occur in everything, and there are a number of cases where several stations with the same name exist at different locations.
One of them is Okubo Station, which I sometimes joke about. The Chuo Main Line station next to Shinjuku is probably the most famous, but there are also stations on the Ou Main Line (five stations from Akita Station to Aomori) and the Sanyo Main Line (one station from Nishi-Akashi to Shimonoseki). Shiroishi Station is also on the Hakodate Main Line and Hisatsu Line, in addition to the Tohoku Main Line.
There are also station name duplications between the JR group and private railway companies from time to time. Omiya Station is not only on JR’s station in Saitama Prefecture, but also in Kyoto Prefecture (Hankyu Kyoto Main Line). Urayasu Station is not only on the Tokyo Metro Tozai Line in Chiba Prefecture, but also on the JR San-in Main Line. The earlier Okubo station is also in Kyoto Prefecture (Kintetsu Kyoto Line).
One example of a station name duplication between private railways is Kujo Station. The duplication is concentrated in the Kinki region: Nara Prefecture (Kintetsu Kashihara Line), Kyoto Prefecture (Kyoto Municipal Subway Karasuma Line), and Osaka Prefecture (Osaka Metro Chuo Line), but we have not heard of a flood of complaints about this duplication.
Omiya, Okubo, and Urayasu Stations are still far enough away, but Hokkaido’s Shiroishi Station is a pain in the neck. Although they are the same “Shiroishi Station in Sapporo,” Shiroishi Station on the JR Hakodate Main Line and Shiroishi Station on the Tozai Subway Line are 1.7 km apart in a straight line.
Some route guidance services add the name of the prefecture or the company’s bureau in parentheses to avoid confusion about such stations with the same name. However, this is meaningless if the user does not read the note properly.
© Source travel watch