A , sometimes abbreviated as , is a form of
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
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
which is operated by an entity other than the railway company using the station. These stations are commonly operated by the local municipality, an
agricultural cooperative
An agricultural cooperative, also known as a farmers' co-op, is a cooperative in which farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activity.
A broad typology of agricultural cooperatives distinguishes between agricultural service cooperati ...
, a store in front of the station, or a private individual. Other than the entity operating the station, there is no difference to the passenger using the station.
The station attendant generally sells passenger tickets through a ticket window and posts the train schedules, while the train conductor or driver handles collection and validation of tickets in most cases. Because the station attendant does not directly deal with the passengers outside of ticket sales, the types of tickets they can sell is generally limited to fare tickets and books of tickets. Because of this, ''kantaku'' stations are considered only one step above an unmanned station. There are a few places within the
JR East
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 ...
and
JR Kyushu
The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan and the JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait ...
, however, where the station attendant at a ''kantaku'' station handles the collection of the tickets as well as selling the tickets.
An exception to this are many of the ''kantaku'' stations operating within the area serviced by
JR Central
is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and in Japanese as JR Tōkai ( ja, JR東海, links=no). ''Tōkai'' is a reference to the geographical ...
which have the
MARS
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
logo above the ticket window. These stations can sell tickets for any train within the
JR Group
The Japan Railways Group, more commonly known as the or simply JR, consists of seven for-profit stock companies that took over most of the assets and operations of the government-owned Japanese National Railways (JNR) on April 1, 1987. Mo ...
, though most cannot be exchanged at a regular railway company operated station.
External links
Research Center of JR tickets - JR Central
{{in lang, ja
Railway stations in Japan
ja:日本の鉄道駅#簡易委託駅