is a seasonal railway station on the Gala-Yuzawa Line in the town of

Yuzawa, Niigata is a town located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 7,926, and a population density of 22.2 persons per km2. The total area of the town was . The town is famous for its hot springs. Geography Yuzawa is lo ...

, Japan, operated by

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters ar ...

(JR East).

Lines

The station is served by the Gala-Yuzawa Line from Echigo-Yuzawa Station, and forms the only station on this 1.8 km branch line. Services are classed as "

Limited express A limited express is a type of express train service. It refers to an express service that stops at a limited number of stops in comparison to other express services on the same or similar routes. Japan The term "limited express" is a common ...

", although they are actually extensions of

Jōetsu Shinkansen The is a high-speed shinkansen railway line connecting Tokyo and Niigata, Japan, via the Tōhoku Shinkansen, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Despite its name, the line does not pass through the city of Joetsu or the hist ...

'' Tanigawa'' services. The station is open to passengers only during the winter ski season, usually from mid-December until early May.

Layout

The station consists of an

island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...

serving two tracks. The station has a "

Midori no Madoguchi , which stands for ''Multi Access (originally Magnetic-electronic Automatic) seat Reservation System'', is a train ticket reservation system used by the railway companies of former Japanese National Railways, currently Japan Railways Group (JR Grou ...

" staffed ticket office.

Platforms

File:Gala Yuzawa Station ticket barriers 20150125.JPG, The ticket barriers, January 2015 File:Gala-yuzawa-Station-Platform.jpg, The station platforms, March 2010

History

The station opened on 20 December 1990.

Passenger statistics

In fiscal 2017, the JR portion of the station was used by an average of 1,029 passengers daily (boarding passengers only). The passenger figures for previous years are as shown below.

Surrounding area

The station adjoins the Gala Yuzawa ski resort.

References

External links

JR East station information

Gala Yuzawa Snow Resort website
{{Joetsu Shinkansen Railway stations in Niigata Prefecture Jōetsu Shinkansen Railway stations in Japan opened in 1990 Yuzawa, Niigata