Former JNR Tomiuchi Line Tomiuchi Station

Tomiuchi Station on the Former JNR Line

The Former JNR Tomiuchi Line Tomiuchi Station (旧国鉄富内線富内駅) is the site of a railway station in Hobetsu-Tomiuchi, Mukawa, Yufutsu District, Hokkaido, whose station building, platform and yard tracks of 1923 were registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on August 28, 2001 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The name is read Tomiuchi. The Agency lists the owner as Hobetsu Town, now part of Mukawa.

According to the Agency, the station was built for the Kanayama Line of the Hokkaido Mining Railway, begun in 1920 to open up and carry out mineral resources. The line ran from Tomakomai through Hobetsu to Kanayama, and was later nationalised as the JNR Tomiuchi Line.

The Tomiuchi Line closed in 1986 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The station yard was left as it was, and locally it is known as Tomiuchi Ginga Station, the Milky Way Station (Japan Travel and Tourism Association).

Three Parts of One Station

The three registered structures work together as one station. The single-storey timber building has a gabled roof; behind it runs the platform, and two tracks lie parallel to the platform (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

• Station building: single-storey timber with a sheet-iron roof, 91 square metres in area, with a points-lever cabin projecting to the left of the ticket barrier
• Platform: two courses of stone, about 75 metres long, with ramps at both ends
• Yard tracks: double track on an earth bed with stone ballast, timber sleepers and steel rails, 380 metres long

Seen together, they still show the path a passenger took, from the waiting room through the barrier to the platform and onto the train. Each structure has its own page.

Kept After Closure

The Agency notes that after closure local residents formed the Hobetsu Ginga Railway Village Committee (穂別銀河鉄道の里づくり委員会) and built their community work around keeping and using the railway facilities and equipment. All three structures were registered for their contribution to the historic landscape.

Passenger coaches also remain in the yard alongside the building, platform and tracks (Japan Travel and Tourism Association). The coaches are not part of the registration.

Visiting and Getting There

According to the Japan Travel and Tourism Association, the site is free to visit and lies about 130 minutes by car from Sapporo. The contact number given is 0145-46-6212.

The building, platform and tracks can all be seen from outside. No official information on opening hours for the station interior was found. Tomiuchi is a small settlement in the hills, so check road and weather conditions before setting out.