Karuizawa Station

Karuizawa Station (軽井沢駅, Karuizawa-eki) is a railway station in the town of Karuizawa, Nagano, Japan, operated jointly by the JR Group company East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the third-sector railway operator Shinano Railway.

Karuizawa Station 軽井沢駅
North side of Karuizawa Station, July 2016
Japanese name
Shinjitai	軽井沢駅
Kyūjitai	輕井澤驛
Hiragana	かるいざわえき
General information
Location	Karuizawa, Karuizawa Town, Kitasaku District, Nagano Prefecture 389-0102 Japan
Coordinates	36°20′33.18″N 138°38′6.22″E / 36.3425500°N 138.6350611°E
Elevation	941 m (3,087 ft)[1]
Operated by	JR East Shinano Railway
Line(s)	Hokuriku Shinkansen ■ Shinano Railway Line
Platforms	3 island platforms
Tracks	6
Connections	Bus stop
Other information
Status	Staffed (Midori no Madoguchi )
History
Opened	1 December 1888; 135 years ago
Passengers
FY2015	2,889 daily (JR East)
Services
Preceding station JR East Following station Sakudaira towards Jōetsumyōkō Hokuriku Shinkansen Hakutaka Takasaki towards Tokyo Sakudaira towards Nagano Hokuriku Shinkansen Asama Annaka-Haruna towards Tokyo Preceding station Shinano Railway Following station Naka-Karuizawa towards Nagano Shinano Railway Line Rapid Local Terminus
Former services Preceding station JR East Following station Naka-Karuizawa towards Niigata Shin'etsu Main Line Yokokawa towards Takasaki
Location Karuizawa Station Location within Nagano Prefecture Karuizawa Station Karuizawa Station (Central Japan) Karuizawa Station Karuizawa Station (Japan)

Karuizawa Station is served by the JR East Hokuriku Shinkansen high-speed line from Tokyo to Kanazawa via Nagano. On the Shinkansen line, it is located 146.8 kilometers from Tokyo Station. It is also a terminal station for the 65.1 kilometer Shinano Railway Line which operates between Karuizawa and Nagano.

The JR portion of the station has two elevated island platforms, serving four tracks, with the station building underneath. The station has a Midori no Madoguchi staffed ticket office.^[2] The Shinano Railway portion of the station has one ground-level island platform serving two tracks, connected to the JR East portion of the station by a footbridge.

The station began service on December 1, 1888, as the terminal of the Japanese Government Railways between Naoetsu (near the Sea of Japan coast) and Karuizawa. The line was extended from Karuizawa to Yokokawa through the Usui Pass on April 1, 1893, completing the trunk line between Takasaki (connecting to a Nippon Railway line to Ueno Station in Tokyo) and Naoetsu, which was later named the Shinetsu Main Line. At Karuizawa, all trains were coupled with or separated from helper locomotives that were required for all trains to go through the Usui Pass section.

When the Japanese National Railways (JNR) were divided and privatized on April 1, 1987, Shinetsu Main Line became a part of the system of East Japan Railway Company (JR East). On October 1, 1997, JR East opened the Nagano Shinkansen with a stop at Karuizawa. At the same time, JR East ceased to operate the conventional Shinetsu Main Line between Yokokawa and Shinonoi, of which, the section between Yokokawa and Karuizawa (Usui Pass) was closed permanently and the remaining section was transferred to Shinano Railway. Since then, Karuizawa Station has been shared by JR East and Shinano Railway.

In fiscal 2015, the JR East portion of the station was used by an average of 2,889 passengers daily (boarding passengers only).^[3]

• Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza
• Karuizawa Prince Hotel Ski Resort

• Karuizawa Prince Hotel
• Mampei Hotel
• Mikasa Hotel

Track 1

• Seibu Kanko Bus
  • For Manza-Kazawaguchi Station
  • For Manza Onsen and Shirane Kazan

Track 2

• Kusakaru Kotsu
  • For Kita-Karuizawa
  • For Naganohara-Kusatsuguchi Station
  • For Kusatsu Onsen Bus Terminal

Track 3

• Seibu Bus and Chikuma Bus
  • For Kawagoe Matoba, Nerima Station and Ikebukuro Station
  • For Tamagawa-Josui Station and Tachikawa Station
• Tokyu Bus
  • For Shibuya Station and Futako-tamagawa Station
• Kintetsu Bus
  • For Namba Station

Track 4

• Community bus
  • Around Karuizawa Town

Track 5

• JR BUS KANTO Usui Line
  • For Yokokawa Station
    • This bus route passes through Megane Bridge during autumn.

North Exit

• Shoei Kotsu
  • For Nagano Station and Suzaka Station
  • For Shinjuku Station and Tokyo Station

• South Exit, September 2022

• Shinkansen fare gates, October 2021

• Shinkansen Platforms 1 and 2, October 2021

• Shinkansen Platforms 3 and 4, October 2021

• Conventional gates, with locker and coin lockers for rent on the left, October 2021

• Old station building, July 2016

• Nameplate of the station, July 2011

• Station structure, 2007

• List of railway stations in Japan

  Media related to Karuizawa Station at Wikimedia Commons

• JR East Karuizawa Station (in Japanese)
• Shinano Railway Karuizawa Station (in Japanese)