Iwafune Station

Iwafune Station (岩舟駅) is a railway station in the city of Tochigi, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East).

Lines
Iwafune Station is served by the Ryōmō Line, and is located 19.3 km from the terminus of the line at Oyama Station.

Station layout
Iwafune Station has a single island platform and a single side platform connected to the station building by a footbridge. The station is unattended.

History
Iwafune Station was opened on 10 October 1889 as Iwafune Station (岩船駅). It was renamed to its present kanji spelling on 1 March 1902. The station was absorbed into the JR East network upon the privatization of the Japanese National Railways (JNR) on 1 April 1987.

The current station structure was built in 1936 as a half-timbered building with a characteristic foundation made of regional "Iwafune stone". Originally it had a station master as depicted in the anime film listed below, and a lockable waiting room. As part of a renovation and simultaneous modernization, the part of the station master's accommodation was demolished by JR East in 2006 and the rest of the building was converted into an open waiting hall. The station has been in unmanned operation since then.

Passenger statistics
In fiscal 2011, the station was used by an average of 568 passengers daily (boarding passengers only).

Surrounding area

 * Iwafune Post Office
 * Iwafune Geological Museum

Film setting
In the 2007 animated film 5 Centimeters per Second, Takaki and Akari see each other for the last time at this station in 4 March 1995. Twelve years later, Akari departs from this station for her wedding in Tokyo. In the manga adaption of the film, Takaki also visits this station with his girlfriend in 2007.