was a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

located in the city of

Wakkanai file:Wakkanai city office.JPG, 290px, Wakkanai City Hall file:Wakkanai shore.jpg, 290px, Shore of Wakkanai is a Cities of Japan, city located in Sōya Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Wakkanai is the capital of Sōya Subprefecture. Situated approx ...

Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It was operated by

JR Hokkaido The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to by its official abbreviation: . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a smart c ...

. On 14 March 2025, the station was closed due to low number of passengers.

Lines

Bakkai Station was served by the

Sōya Main Line The is a Japanese railway line operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) in Hokkaido. The line connects Asahikawa Station in Asahikawa and Wakkanai Station in Wakkanai, and is the northernmost railway line in Japan. The name c ...

from to , and lay 245.0 km from the starting point of the line at Asahikawa. The station was numbered "W78".

Layout

Bakkai Station was a ground-level station with two opposed

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, ...

s, which formed a

passing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains o ...

on the otherwise single-track line. The platforms were linked by a level crossing for passengers. The station was unstaffed, and was the northernmost unstaffed station in Japan during the years before its closure.

Platforms

Bakkai Station building (From the platform side) 2020.08.22.jpg, Bakkai Station building (From the platform side) JR Soya-Main-Line Bakkai Station Platform.jpg, The platforms in October 2017 JR Soya-Main-Line Bakkai Station Premises railroad crossing.jpg, The passenger level crossing between the platforms in October 2017 JR Soya-Main-Line Bakkai Station-name signboard.jpg, Signboard

History

The station opened on 25 June 1924 with the opening of the

Japanese Government Railways The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) was the national rail transport, railway system directly operated by the until 1949. It was a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the later Japan Railways Group. Name The English name "Japanese ...

(JGR) Teshio North Line between Wakkanai Station (now

Minami-Wakkanai Station is a railway station located in the city of Wakkanai, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is operated by JR Hokkaido. The station is numbered "W79". Lines Minami-Wakkanai Station is served by the Sōya Main Line from to , and lies 256.7 km from the sta ...

) and Kabutonuma Station. On 25 September 1926 the Teshio South Line and Teshio North Line were merged and the line name was changed to Teshio Line, and on 1 April 1930 the Teshio Line was incorporated into the Sōya Main Line . With the privatization of

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 pre ...

(JNR), the successor of JGR, on 1 April 1987, JR Hokkaido took over control of the station. In June 2023, this station was selected to be among 42 stations on the JR Hokkaido network to be slated for abolition owing to low ridership. The closure took place on 14 March 2025.

Passenger statistics

In fiscal 2020, the station was used by an average of 3.8 passengers daily.

Surrounding area

The station was located in the Kutonebetsu district on a hill approximately two kilometers inland away from the coastal settlement of Bakkai (former Bakkai Village). In front of the station, weeds grew everywhere except the road, and there were only a few dilapidated houses and sheds, no stores. Hokkaido Highway 510 Bakkai Kabutonuma Station Line passed near the station.

References

External links

{{Sōya Main Line Stations of Hokkaido Railway Company Railway stations in Hokkaido Prefecture Railway stations in Japan opened in 1924 Wakkanai Railway stations in Japan closed in 2025