is a junction

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

in the town of

Takanezawa, Tochigi file:鬼怒グリーンパーク - panoramio.jpg, 250px, Park in Takanezawa is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 29,528 in 12,618 households, and a population density o ...

, 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 are ...

(JR East). The station building was designed by Kengo Kuma and Associates. The station is also a freight terminal for the

Japan Freight Railway Company , or , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It provides transportation of cargo nationwide throughout Japan. Its headquarters are in Shibuya, Tokyo near Shinjuku Station. The Japan Railways Group was foun ...

(JR Freight).

Lines

Hōshakuji Station is served by the

Utsunomiya Line The Utsunomiya Line ( ja, 宇都宮線, ) is the name given to a 163.5 kilometer section of the Tōhoku Main Line between Tokyo Station in Tokyo and Kuroiso Station in Nasushiobara, Tochigi, Japan. It is part of the East Japan Railway Compan ...

( Tohoku Main Line), and is 121.2 km from the starting point of the line at . It is also a

terminal station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

for the

Karasuyama Line The is a railway line in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects in the town of Takanezawa with in Nasukarasuyama. Services Trains run approximately once every hour, traveling the en ...

, a 20.4 km branch line to .

Station layout

The station has an elevated station building, with one

side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms ...

and one

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 ...

underneath. 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

History

Hōshakuji Station opened on 21 October 1899. With the privatization of

Japanese National Railways The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pref ...

(JNR) on 1 April 1987, the station came under the control of JR East.

Passenger statistics

In fiscal 2019, the station was used by an average of 2251 passengers daily (boarding passengers only). The passenger figures for previous years are as shown below.

Surrounding area

*Takanezawa Town Hall *Takanezawa Post Office * *

Kinugawa River , is a river on the main island of Honshu in Japan. It flows from the north to the south on the Kantō plain, merging with . At 176.7 km in length, it is the longest tributary of Tone-gawa. From ancient times, it has been known to cause flood ...

Gallery

JR East Hōshakuji Station East Exit 20221127.jpg, Eastern Exit, November 2022 Hōshakuji Station New Aisle.jpg, Aisle, December 2016 JR East Hōshakuji Station Gate 20221127.jpg, Fare gates, ticket office and machines, November 2022 JR East Hōshakuji Station Platform 20221127.jpg, Platforms, 2022

References

External links

JR East station information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoshakuji Station Railway stations in Tochigi Prefecture Railway stations in Japan opened in 1899 Karasuyama Line Utsunomiya Line Takanezawa, Tochigi Stations of East Japan Railway Company Stations of Japan Freight Railway Company