is an

infill In urban planning, infill, or in-fill, is the rededication of land in an urban environment, usually open-space, to new construction. Infill also applies, within an urban polity, to construction on any undeveloped land that is not on the urban mar ...

railway station on the

Sasshō Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), which connects in Sapporo and in Tōbetu, Ishikari District. Its name is made up of two characters from and , the latter of which was the terminus of the l ...

in Tōbetsu, Hokkaidō, Japan. The station is operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido).

Planning

The idea of building the station came about when the town of Tōbetsu and

Royce' , stylized as ROYCE', is a Japanese chocolate manufacturing company. The company is best known for its "nama chocolate", a form of ganache made with melted cacao and fresh cream, and dusted with fine cocoa powder. History Royce' was establish ...

, a chocolate manufacturing company, submitted a joint petition to JR Hokkaido, seeking to establish a new

infill station An infill station (sometimes in-fill station) is a train station built on an existing passenger rail, rapid transit, or light rail line to address demand in a location between existing stations. Such stations take advantage of existing train serv ...

. The station was planned to improve convenience for visitors to Royce's Futomi factory, which is located along the

, as well as to attract private investments to develop housing sites and visitor facilities in the area surrounding the station. Royce' paid ¥930 million for the construction of the station building and platform, while the town of Tōbetsu would build the station square at an estimated cost of ¥546 million.

Construction

Construction of the station began in the spring of 2021, and the station itself opened on 12 March 2022. While most trains stop at the station, a minority of trains are timetabled to skip the station. Following the opening of the station, approximately 500 people were expected to use the station daily, according to JR Hokkaido. Construction of the station square started later in June 2021; while the station square was originally meant to open in tandem with the railway station, a

geological survey A geological survey is the systematic investigation of the geology beneath a given piece of ground for the purpose of creating a geological map or model. Geological surveying employs techniques from the traditional walk-over survey, studying outc ...

revealed that the site was on soft ground. Thus, the opening of the station square was delayed, and is expected to be completed in March 2023.

Station structure

The station consists of a station building as well as a single

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 ...

. The exterior of the station building is painted blue, derived from the brand colour of

, while the interior is made of

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

, a tree found in the town of Tōbetsu. ROYCE' Town Station - Ticket Gate.jpg, Ticket gate ROYCE' Town Station - Platform.jpg, Platform ROYCE' Town Station - Station Sign.jpg, Station sign

References

{{Sasshō Line Railway stations in Hokkaido Prefecture Railway stations in Japan opened in 2022 Stations of Hokkaido Railway Company