Karuizawa Station

Karuizawa Station (軽井沢駅) is a railway station in the town of Karuizawa, Nagano, Japan, operated jointly by the JR Group company East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the third-sector railway operator Shinano Railway.

Lines
Karuizawa Station is served by the JR East Hokuriku Shinkansen high-speed line from Tokyo to Kanazawa via Nagano. On the Shinkansen line, it is located 146.8 kilometers from Tokyo Station. It is also a terminal station for the 65.1 kilometer Shinano Railway Line which operates between Karuizawa and Nagano.

Station layout
The JR portion of the station has two elevated island platforms, serving four tracks, with the station building underneath. The station has a Midori no Madoguchi staffed ticket office. The Shinano Railway portion of the station has one ground-level island platform serving two tracks, connected to the JR East portion of the station by a footbridge.

History
The station began service on December 1, 1888, as the terminal of the Japanese Government Railways between Naoetsu (near the Sea of Japan coast) and Karuizawa. The line was extended from Karuizawa to Yokokawa through the Usui Pass on April 1, 1893, completing the trunk line between Takasaki (connecting to a Nippon Railway line to Ueno Station in Tokyo) and Naoetsu, which was later named the Shinetsu Main Line. At Karuizawa, all trains were coupled with or separated from helper locomotives that were required for all trains to go through the Usui Pass section.

When the Japanese National Railways (JNR) were divided and privatized on April 1, 1987, Shinetsu Main Line became a part of the system of East Japan Railway Company (JR East). On October 1, 1997, JR East opened the Nagano Shinkansen with a stop at Karuizawa. At the same time, JR East ceased to operate the conventional Shinetsu Main Line between Yokokawa and Shinonoi, of which, the section between Yokokawa and Karuizawa (Usui Pass) was closed permanently and the remaining section was transferred to Shinano Railway. Since then, Karuizawa Station has been shared by JR East and Shinano Railway.

Passenger statistics
In fiscal 2015, the JR East portion of the station was used by an average of 2,889 passengers daily (boarding passengers only).

Surrounding area

 * Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza
 * Karuizawa Prince Hotel Ski Resort

Hotels

 * Karuizawa Prince Hotel
 * Mampei Hotel
 * Mikasa Hotel

Bus routes

 * Track 1
 * Seibu Kanko Bus
 * For Manza-Kazawaguchi Station
 * For Manza Onsen and Shirane Kazan
 * Track 2
 * Kusakaru Kotsu
 * For Kita-Karuizawa
 * For Naganohara-Kusatsuguchi Station
 * For Kusatsu Onsen Bus Terminal
 * Track 3
 * Seibu Bus and Chikuma Bus
 * For Kawagoe Matoba, Nerima Station and Ikebukuro Station
 * For Tamagawa-Josui Station and Tachikawa Station
 * Tokyu Bus
 * For Shibuya Station and Futako-tamagawa Station
 * Kintetsu Bus
 * For Namba Station
 * Track 4
 * Community bus
 * Around Karuizawa Town
 * Track 5
 * JR BUS KANTO Usui Line
 * For Yokokawa Station
 * This bus route passes through Megane Bridge during autumn.
 * North Exit
 * Shoei Kotsu
 * For Nagano Station and Suzaka Station
 * For Shinjuku Station and Tokyo Station