One station south of Keikyu Kurihama is YRP Nobi Station. Although it is on a single-track section, the station has a two-track structure with a relative system that allows trains to pass each other.
If 100 people heard the name of this station for the first time, they would all have the same question (as I do).
What is YRP?
According to my casual research, YRP (Yokosuka Research Park) was established in October 1997 with the cooperation of Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, with Keikyu Corporation as the project sponsor. YRP is a research and development base for radio wave and information communication technology, established in October 1997 on an approximately 59-hectare site in the Hikarigaoka district of Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture, with Keikyu Corporation as the project sponsor.
The signboard at the site indicates that a number of prominent businesses and research institutes are currently operating here.
In addition to the major companies that have their own independent sites, there will be many other organizations, large and small, that will be based in the common building, which means that there will be a large concentration of researchers and engineers in this field here.
That’s all I can imagine as an outsider. I would like to take a photo walk to get a feel for the real YRP Nobi, not the imaginary one.
The station was called “Nobi Station” until 1998, when it was renamed to its current name at the time of YRP’s opening. I was told that it is only a few minutes by bus from here to YRP on the hill, so I went there immediately.
Then, when you get off the bus stop at YRP Center, you will see this view.
It’s kind of “rich” and “open” like west coast of the US, isn’t it? Sorry, I’ve never been to there actually. In comparison to the places I’ve been to, I think the hilltop where the National University of Singapore is located is closer to this kind of thing. The climate is more mild and comfortable in YRP, I guess.
Since we visited during the holidays, there were few cars and people, and on top of that, it was a beautiful day, so it felt more tranquil, idyllic, and open.
The entire hillside area was probably developed by Keikyu as the developer. The building you see in the ↑ photo is a Keikyu-affiliated business hotel, which is indeed shrewd (lol).
It is a base for high-tech engineers, and I was soothed to see such an unmanned direct sales corner suddenly appear in a corner of the orderly street.
It’s originally an agricultural district in Yokosuka.
I see what you mean, I thought, and on my way back toward the station, I walked down the back roads on foot, and soon the bare-faced Nobi district, surrounded by fields and streams, came into view.
It is rare to see a “vacant lot that is unlikely to be used for anything in the foreseeable future” or a “cluster of wildflowers” like this in the metropolitan area.
Coming down to the city/residential area, I took two unconnected photos, as is typical of my photo walks.
Is the font of post office name signs the same everywhere? Isn’t this “Yokosuka Nobi Post Office” terribly cool?
This is a space that appears to be a bicycle storage area in a private house. I thought the design of the wall or the way it was painted was wonderful. I think it looks like a seagull to me, but what do you think?
We made it back to the Keikyu station.
YRP was a bit otherworldly, but the area around the station is very local and relaxing.
So, I took a walk around the YRP Nobi neighborhood.
Thank you for seeing me to the end.
The next station is Keikyu Nagasawa.
Equipment used this time: K-3III, DA20-40
