Sai

History

Saiin Station combines a 1910-opened Keifuku Electric Railway Arashiyama Main Line tram stop with a 1928-opened Hankyu Kyoto Main Line station, straddling Kyōto's Ukyō and Nakagyō Wards. The Hankyu side opened on 1 November 1928 as Kyōto-Saiin Station when the Shin-Keihan Railway extended its line from Takatsuki-chō, and was renamed Saiin and placed underground in March 1931 when the line was pushed onward to Kyōto Station (today's Ōmiya). It joined Hanshin-Kyūkō (the future Hankyu) by merger in 1943 and became part of the Kyoto Main Line in 1949. The Keifuku tram stop dates from 25 March 1910 and was transferred between successive operators before reaching Keifuku in 1942. A major redevelopment from 2015 to 2017 added new north and south ticket gates linking the two operators' platforms.

History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-18.

Notes

The pre-war pronunciation of the area name was Sai, and Keifuku's station is still read that way, while Hankyu and the modern official place name use Saiin.