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 city of

Shibukawa, Gunma is a city in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 76,098 in 32,439 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Shibukawa is the location of Ikaho Onsen, a popular hot spring resort. ...

, Japan, operated by the

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).

Lines

Shibukawa Station is a station on the

Jōetsu Line The is a major railway line in Japan, owned by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Takasaki Station in Gunma Prefecture with Miyauchi Station in Niigata Prefecture, linking the northwestern Kanto region and the Sea of Japan ...

and is 21.1 kilometers from the starting point of the line at . It is also the official

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 ...

of the

Agatsuma Line Agatsuma may refer to: *, Japanese shamisen player *Agatsuma District, Gunma, a district in Gunma Prefecture, Japan *Agatsuma, Gunma, a town in Gunma Prefecture, Japan *Agatsuma River, a river in Japan *Agatsuma Entertainment, a Japanese toy/video ...

and 55.3 kilometers from the opposing terminus at , although almost all trains continue past Shibukawa to terminate at

Takasaki Station is a junction railway station located in the city of Takasaki, Gunma, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the private railway operator Jōshin Dentetsu. It is also a freight depot for the Japan Freight Railway Compa ...

. It is also a freight depot 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).

Station layout

The station has 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 ...

and a single

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 ...

connected to the station building by an underground passage. 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 ...

'' ticket office. From the bus terminal, local buses leave bound for

Maebashi Station is a passenger railway station in the city of Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is one of two main railway stations of Maebashi; the other is Chūō Maebashi Station of the private railway op ...

Ikaho was a town located in Kitagunma District, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 3,920 and a density of 175.63 persons per km2. The total area was 22.32 km2. On February 20, 2006, Ikaho, along with the vil ...

, Nakanojō Station,

Numata is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 46,908 in 20,589 households, and a population density of 110 persons per km². The total area of the city is , making it the largest city in terms of area w ...

direction, and other destinations. Long-distance buses leave for

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

, and other destinations. A taxi stand is by the main entrance. In the center of the sidewalk portion of the rotary is a large map of Japan; there is a sculpture in the center of the map, highlighting Shibukawa's claim to be the geographical center of Japan.

Platforms

File:Shibukawa Station platforms 20110813.jpg, The platforms looking south in August 2011 File:JREast-Shibukawa-station-platform-20110406.jpg, The platforms looking north in April 2011 File:Shibukawa Station platform 3 20110813.jpg, The view from platform 3 in August 2011, looking south

History

Shibukawa Station opened on 1 July 1921. Upon the privatization of 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) on 1 April 1987, it came under the control of JR East.

Passenger statistics

In fiscal 2019, the station was used by an average of 3263 passengers daily (boarding passengers only). The passenger figures for previous years are as shown below.

Surrounding area

*Shibukawa Shopping Plaza *Shibukawa Post Office *

References

External links

* {{Agatsuma Line Railway stations in Gunma Prefecture Railway stations in Japan opened in 1921 Stations of East Japan Railway Company Jōetsu Line Agatsuma Line Shibukawa, Gunma Stations of Japan Freight Railway Company