To use this site, please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page.
This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content, and analyzing our website traffic. By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies.
Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
The Yomiuri Shimbun The day’s first train leaves JR Nemuro Station on March 15.
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 Yomiuri Shimbun Train fans and others gather for photos in front of a sign reading “Easternmost in Japan, Nemuro Station” at JR Nemuro Station in Nemuro, Hokkaido, on March 15.
“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.
