SHOWA SNAP: Fukuyama Station, 1975

Fukuyama Station in Hiroshima Prefecture is located right by the 399-year-old Fukuyama Castle. Bullet trains whiz in and out of the station on a daily basis, and over 20,000 people pass though it every day. Back in 1975, parking at Fukuyama station consisted of nothing more than a ticket booth and stanchions in a ring. The outer ring formed the limits of the lot, and additional cars were parked inside the ring.

It looks a bit haphazard in the first photo, but here’s the same lot from the other side. Here, with the station (and main tower of Fukuyama Castle) in the background, things look a bit more orderly. There are lots of interesting cars in the scenes, including a Honda Life StepVan, Mitsubishi Minica, numerous Corollas, Carinas, and kujira Crowns, and because this is Hiroshima, Mazda Familias. What catches your eye?

Image: 100g

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8 Responses to SHOWA SNAP: Fukuyama Station, 1975

  1. Negishi no Keibajo says:

    Hino busses. Painted battleship grey, they were my school bus as a kid on base.

  2. cesariojpn says:

    Remember my Grandparents had a cute Toshiba TV from the 70’s (seeing the sign in the first picture). It was white on a stand, with a black frame or ring on the front, the screen framed by a silver ring, with the “rabbit ears” and circle antenna on the back. was in the kitchen in the corner by the dinner table.

  3. Nigel says:

    70’s levels of traffic. Looks like there where times when you could drive in third gear !!

  4. John Moran says:

    Hino maru?

    • Mark Newton-John says:

      Hino, the heavy truck division of Toyota. Hinomaru, the national symbol of Japan on aircraft. Hino Maru, a merchant ship. But you knew that.

  5. nlpnt says:

    I’m still chewing on a pic from the same era found on another car site, from somewhere in the US (with palm trees, so California? Florida?) with a fair number of Toyotas sprinkled in among the Detroit iron, but not a single Datsun, and Euros being down to a captive-import Ford Capri and a smattering of VW Beetles.

    http://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/comment-image/590666.jpg

    • Mark Newton-John says:

      I’d say 1972, based on the red Pontiac GTO/LeMans, the Chevrolet Vega 2-door sedan, and the Dodge Charger. Hard to see, but is that a white Mazda RX-3 sedan? (from the tail lights)

      • nlpnt says:

        The newest car I could find was the white-and-red 1974 Chevelle coupe.

        I think both white JNC sedans in that same row are ’69-72 Toyota Mark IIs from the shape of the door and air extractor behind them. I had to save to get a larger view.

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