A tunnel that keeps passengers off the tracks
To reach the island platform at Nihongi, travelers descend a flight of steps, walk beneath the rails, and climb back into daylight on the far side. The passage is a reinforced-concrete tunnel about 28 meters long, laid out in a squared U that joins the station building to the northern end of the platform.
The arrangement is not mere convenience. Nihongi is a switchback station, where arriving trains slip off the climbing main line onto a level platform track, then reverse across the main line to continue. With trains crossing the running lines, a level foot crossing would be dangerous, so the underpass carries passengers safely below.
A prewar concrete survivor
The tunnel dates to 1942 (Showa 17), a period when reinforced concrete was still uncommon for such work at rural stations. Surveys note it as a scarce surviving example of a prewar underpass on the former Shinetsu Main Line, and that rarity underpins its 2019 listing as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property.
At the station-building end, the staircase is sheltered by a small timber shelter (uwaya). It runs north to south with a gabled metal roof and low windows on its east and west faces, framed by a wa-goya, a Japanese-style timber roof structure.
Reading the structure on foot
Walking the passage is the clearest way to grasp how a switchback station protects its passengers. The concrete walls and the worn steps carry the plain, purposeful feel of civil engineering rather than decoration.
Pause at the sheltered staircase to see how the humble timber shelter was matched to the concrete below it, two very different materials solving one problem. From the platform above, the reversing movements of the trains become easy to follow.
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Q&A
- Why does the station have an underpass instead of a level crossing?
- Nihongi is a switchback station where trains reverse across the main line. A level foot crossing would put passengers in the path of those movements, so an underground passage keeps them safe.
- When was the underpass built?
- In 1942 (Showa 17), with later repairs in the Showa 50s. It is a rare surviving prewar railway underpass on the former Shinetsu Main Line.
- What are its dimensions and material?
- The tunnel is reinforced concrete, about 28 meters long. A separate timber shelter (uwaya) of roughly 21 sq m covers the staircase on the station-building side.
- Is the underpass still in use?
- Yes. It remains the everyday route between the station building and the island platform, so any visitor taking a train uses it.
Basic Information
| Name | Echigo Tokimeki Railway Nihongi Station Underground Passage and Shelter |
|---|---|
| Location | Itabashi, Nakago-ku, Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (registered 10 September 2019, No. 15-500) |
| Era / Year | Showa 17 (1942); repaired in the Showa 50s |
| Structure | Underpass: reinforced concrete, length approx. 28 m. Shelter: wooden, single storey, metal-sheet roof, approx. 21 sq m |
| Count | 1 unit |
| Owner | Echigo Tokimeki Railway Co., Ltd. |
| Access | Nihongi Station, Myoko Haneuma Line; in daily use as the platform route |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database — Nihongi Station Underground Passage
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00012885
- Cultural Heritage Online — Nihongi Station Underground Passage
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/446913
- Echigo Tokimeki Railway — Nihongi Station cultural property registration
- https://www.echigo-tokimeki.co.jp/information/detail?id=807
- Niigata Prefecture Tourism Association — Nihongi Station
- https://niigata-kankou.or.jp/spot/44197
Last verified: 2026.07.08