is a railway station and major stop along the

Aoimori Railway Line The is a regional rail line in Aomori Prefecture, Japan that is operated by the Aoimori Railway Company. It connects the terminal station of the Iwate Galaxy Railway Line, Metoki Station, in the town of Sannohe to Aomori Station, the termi ...

in the city of Misawa in

Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the eas ...

, Japan. It is operated by the third sector railway operator

Aoimori Railway Company The is a public-private transport company that operates the Aoimori Railway Line in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Its headquarters are located in the city of Aomori. The government of Aomori Prefecture and the city of Aomori are the primary shareh ...

Lines

Misawa Station is one of six principal stations served by the

, and is 46.9 kilometers from the terminus of the line at

Aomori Station is a railway station in the city of Aomori in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. The station has been operating since September 1891, though the most recent station building, which consists of three island platforms connected to the station building by a ...

. It is 664.2 kilometers from

Tokyo Station Tokyo Station ( ja, 東京駅, ) is a railway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The original station is located in Chiyoda's Marunouchi business district near the Imperial Palace grounds. The newer Eastern extension is not far from the Ginza ...

Station layout

Misawa Station has one ground-level

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 ...

and one ground-level

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 platform ...

serving three tracks with an elevated station building built over the tracks. The station is staffed The station building has a ticket office, as well as automatic ticket machines.

Platforms

History

Misawa Station was opened on 1 April 1896 as the on the

Nippon Railway was the first private railway company in the history of Japan. The company built trunk lines connecting Tokyo with the Tōhoku region to the northeast. Most of its lines came under the control of Japanese Government Railways following nationaliza ...

. It became a station on the

Tōhoku Main Line The Tōhoku Main Line ( ja, 東北本線, ) is a long railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and passes through such cities as Saitama, Utsunomiya, Fuku ...

Japanese Government Railways The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) was the national railway system directly operated by the Japanese Ministry of Railways ( ja, 鉄道省, Tetsudō-shō, ) until 1949. It was a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the later Japan Ra ...

(JGR), the pre-war predecessor to the

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), when the Nippon Railway was

nationalized Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to p ...

on 1 July 1906. On 4 September 1922 it became a

joint station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

, when the Towada Railway (present-day

Towada Kankō Electric Railway The , or , is a transportation company that provides transportation services over a wide range of southeastern and central Aomori Prefecture, Japan. The company used to operate the Towada Kankō Electric Railway Line, which connects Misawa Stat ...

, also known as Tōtetsu) connected Furumaki with Towadashi Station. The Tōtetsu Furumaki Station was relocated 120 meters away on 1 October 1926 and a new station building was completed on 1 January 1959. The Tōtetsu station was renamed Misawa Station on 1 March 1961 and the JNR station followed on 20 March of the same year. With the

privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

of the JNR on 1 April 1987, the JNR Misawa Station came under the operational control of East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and

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 fou ...

(JR Freight). Freight services were discontinued in June 2006. The control of the Tōhoku Main Line (between Hachinohe and Aomori) was transferred to Aoimori Railway on 4 December 2010, the day the

Tōhoku Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line, connecting Tokyo with Aomori in Aomori Prefecture in a route length of , making it Japan's longest Shinkansen line. It runs through the more sparsely populated Tōhoku region of Japan's main ...

was extended to . On 1 April 2012 Towada Kankō Electric Railway discontinued its railway business. The station building was expanded following the opening of a plaza extension on 4 April 2020. Until the operational change in 2010, the JR station was served by the limited express trains ''Tsugaru'', ''Hakuchō'' and ''Super Hakuchō''. As of January 2021, the only JR East limited express train to stop at Misawa Station is the ''

Resort Asunaro A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort' ...

'' sightseeing train that runs between and stations.

Surrounding area

*Aomori Prefectural Misawa Commercial High School * Komaki Onsen *Misawa Station Post Office

Gallery

file:Aoimori Railway Misawa Station Misawa Aomori pref Japan12n.jpg, JR tracks and platforms from pedestrian bridge. file:Misawa_NEE485.jpg, JR East ''Hakuchō'' limited express departing northbound from the Misawa train station. file:Misawa-totetsu.jpg, Tōtetsu train leaves Misawa station file:MisawaTrainStation1.jpg, Ticket inspector on Tōtetsu platform (October 2005)

References

* ''JTB Timetable'' December 2010 issue

External links

Aoimori Railway station information page
{{Aoimori Line Railway stations in Japan opened in 1896 Railway stations in Aomori Prefecture Aoimori Railway Line Misawa, Aomori