Nemuro Station Becomes Japan’s Easternmost Rail Stop; Line Runs Through ‘Beautiful Landscapes’ in Hokkaido

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:12 JST, April 5, 2025

NEMURO, Hokkaido — A ceremony was held on March 15 at Nemuro Station to mark the departure of the first JR Hanasaki Line train on the day when the station became the easternmost station in Japan following the closure of another station nearby.

Nemuro Station is on the Nemuro Peninsula, which juts into the Pacific Ocean. The Hanasaki Line runs onto the peninsula, where it ends in a broad, fishhook-like curve. As the terminus of the line, Nemuro Station is on the point of the hook. But nearby Higashi-Nemuro Station, on the curve of the hook, was slightly further east.

After Higashi-Nemuro Station was permanently closed on March 14, Nemuro Station inherited the “easternmost” crown.

“The Hanasaki Line, which starts from here, runs through places with beautiful landscapes,” Tatsuo Togawa, the Kushiro branch head of Hokkaido Railway Co. (JR Hokkaido), said at the Nemuro Station ceremony. “I hope many people will travel on our trains and learn about the deep history and geography of the line.”

Local residents and train buffs from across the country flocked to the ceremony. They raised banners and took photos in time for the first train, which departed at 8:27 a.m.

“I’m overcome with emotion because I’ve been able to witness both the closure of Higashi-Nemuro Station and the departure of the first train from Nemuro Station on the day it became [Japan’s] easternmost station,” said Manabu Onozawa, 42, from Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture.

Mitsuhiro Shiozu, 51, from Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, raised a banner he had made by hand.

“I love traveling and trains. I prepared two banners, one for Higashi-Nemuro Station and one for Nemuro Station,” he said happily.