Towada-Minami Station

Towada-Minami Station

十和田南駅
Towada-Minami Station in September 2018
General information
LocationTowada-Nishikigi Hamada 100, Kazuno-shi, Akita-ken 018-5336
Japan
Coordinates40°15′19.6″N 140°46′13.3″E / 40.255444°N 140.770361°E / 40.255444; 140.770361
Operated by JR East
Line Hanawa Line
Distance77.7 km from Kōma
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
Construction
Structure typeAt grade
Other information
StatusUnstaffed
WebsiteOfficial website
History
OpenedJuly 4, 1920
Previous namesKemanai Station (to 1957)
Passengers
FY2018162
Services
Preceding station JR East Following station
Suehiro
towards Ōdate
Hanawa Line Shibahira
towards Morioka
Location
Towada-Minami Station
Location within Akita Prefecture
Towada-Minami Station
Towada-Minami Station (Japan)

Towada-Minami Station (十和田南駅, Towada-Minami-eki) is a railway station on the Hanawa Line in the city of Kazuno, Akita Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The station serves the former town of Kemanai, now part of Kazuno, and functions as a local access point for the surrounding residential and commercial area. [1]

Lines

Towada-Minami Station is served by the Hanawa Line and is located 77.7 kilometres from the official starting point of the line at Kōma Station in Iwate Prefecture. By distance, it lies 99.0 kilometres from Morioka. The neighbouring stations on the Hanawa Line are Shibahira Station to the east (towards Morioka) and Suehiro Station to the west (towards Ōdate).

Station layout

Towada-Minami is a ground-level station with a single island platform serving two tracks, allowing trains to pass and cross. The station is built as a switchback, all trains must reverse direction within the station, and this requires a brief stop to change the operating direction. The switchback layout reflects earlier plans to extend the line from this point toward Kosaka, which were never carried out.[2]

The station building is on the north side of the tracks and is connected to the island platform by a level crossing. The traditional wooden station building dates from the prewar period and has been repeatedly modernised but retains the appearance of a rural local-line station.[3]

Towada-Minami is under the control of the JR East Morioka General Management Centre (based at Morioka Station). It became an unstaffed station on 1 April 2024[1], after the closure of its Midori no Madoguchi ticket system on 31 March 2024. Prior to this, it was a consignment station, with ticketing and passenger services contracted to JR East Tohoku General Service. In October 2024, JR East introduced the “Ekinet Q Ticket” ticketless service for the station.[1]

Historically, the station had a kiosk (including a stand-up soba shop) and automatic ticket machines, but these facilities were gradually withdrawn in the 2000s and 2010s.

Platforms

1  Hanawa Line for Yuze-Onsen and Morioka
2  Hanawa Line for Ōtaki-Onsen and Ōdate

History

Towada-Minami Station was opened on July 4, 1920, as Kemanai Station (毛馬内駅) on the privately owned Akita Railways, serving the village of Nishikigi, Akita.[4] The line was nationalized on June 1, 1934, becoming part of the Japanese Government Railways (JGR) system. The JGR became the Japan National Railways (JNR) after World War II. The station was renamed to its present name on June 1, 1957. The station was absorbed into the JR East network upon the privatization of the JNR on April 1, 1987.

Passenger statistics

In fiscal 2018, the station was used by an average of 162 passengers daily (boarding only).[5] In fiscal 2022, the station was used by an average of 120 passengers daily (boarding only).[6]

Surrounding area

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "駅の情報(十和田南駅):JR東日本". JR東日本:東日本旅客鉄道株式会社 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2024-08-29. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  2. ^ "JR東日本:駅構内図・バリアフリー情報(十和田南駅)". JR東日本:東日本旅客鉄道株式会社 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2025-09-16. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  3. ^ "Wayback Machine" (PDF). www.livit.jregroup.ne.jp. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-01-29. Retrieved 2025-12-02. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  4. ^ Nihon Kōtsū Kōsha, ed. (1998). Teishajō hensen daijiten. Kokutetsu JR hen (Shohan ed.). Tōkyō: JTB. ISBN 978-4-533-02980-6.
  5. ^ 各駅の乗車人員 (2018年度) [Station passenger figures (Fiscal 2018)] (in Japanese). Japan: East Japan Railway Company. 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  6. ^ "各駅の乗車人員 2022年度 101位以下(8)|企業サイト:JR東日本". JR東日本:東日本旅客鉄道株式会社 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2025-08-12. Retrieved 2025-12-02.

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