The Ihara Line with its wonderfully named stations: Kiyone Station

My first ride on the Okayama-based Ibara Railway's Ibara Line. It's a train running between Soja Station in Okayama Prefecture and Kannabe Station in Hiroshima Prefecture. I transferred from the JR Hakubi Line, boarding the Ibara Line at Kiyone Station. I absolutely love the station name "Kiyone" – both the sound and the kanji characters. Originally, the area called Kiyoneson became part of Soja City through a merger. It's strange how a lovely name can make even the most ordinary scenery around a station seem incredibly charming. If the station name hadn't been particularly interesting, I probably would have just passed it by. Names really are important.

Kiyone Station