is a railway station on the Joetsu Line

Joetsu Line

The is a major rail line in Japan. Part of the JR East system, it runs from Takasaki Station in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, to Miyauchi Station in Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, linking the northwestern Kantō region and the Sea of Japan coast of the Chūbu region...

 of East Japan Railway Company

East Japan Railway Company

is the largest passenger railway company in the world and one of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo....

, located in Minakami

Minakami, Gunma

is a town located in Tone District, Gunma, Japan. It is the largest and northernmost town in the prefecture.The town was created on October 1, 2005, when the old Minakami merged with the town of Tsukiyono, and the village of Niiharu, all from Tone District....

, Gunma, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

The platform

Railway platform

A railway platform is a section of pathway, alongside rail tracks at a train station, metro station or tram stop, at which passengers may board or alight from trains or trams. Almost all stations for rail transport have some form of platforms, with larger stations having multiple platforms...

 for the northbound trains (to and ) is located 70 meters under ground, in the middle of Shin-Shimizu Tunnel (13,490m). It takes 10 minutes to walk the 486 steps from the ticket gate to the platform. The other platform for the southbound trains (to ) is at street level, above ground.

The climb up the steps from the underground platform features at the start of the novel, NHK dramatization and movie versions of Climber's High

Climber's High

is a 2008 Japanese film directed by Masato Harada.-Awards and nominations:51st Blue Ribbon Awards* Won: Best Film* Won: Best Supporting Actor - Masato Sakai-External links:...

 by Hideo Yokoyama

Hideo Yokoyama

is a Japanese novelist.Yokoyama specialized in mystery novels. He worked constantly during the first three days of 2003 and received a heart attack and subsequent hospitalization on the fourth.His best-selling work was Doki....

.

Underground level

A side platform

Side platform

A Side platform is a platform positioned to the side of a pair of tracks at a railway station, a tram stop or a transitway. A pair of side platforms are often provided on a dual track line with a single side platform being sufficient for a single track line...

 in the tunnel serves the northbound trains.

Ground level

An island platform

Island platform

An island platform is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange...

 with one active and one dismantled tracks serves the southbound trains.

Surroundings

• Mount Tanigawa
  Mount Tanigawa
  is a 1977m mountain on the border of Gunma Prefecture and Niigata Prefecture in Japan.It is one of the 100 famous mountains in Japan.To date, since its initial exploration and route-finding in the early 1930s, a total of 781 people have died on Tanigawadake. is a 1977m mountain on the border of...
  
   (one of the "100 famous mountains in Japan")

History

• September 1, 1931 : It was set up as a signal box
  Signalling control
  On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
  
   with the opening to traffic of Jouetsu Line.
• December 19, 1936 : It became a train station
  Train station
  A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
  
  .
• September 27, 1967 : Shin-Shimizu Tunnel
  Shimizu Tunnel
  is a railroad tunnel in Gunma and Niigata Prefectures of Japan, operated by JR East Jōetsu Line. The name originates from the Shimizu mountain pass nearby...
  
   openes, and Joetsu Line was double-tracked
  Double track
  A double track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.- Overview :...
  
  ; the underground-level platform in this tunnel opened.

Adjacent stations

See also

• Railway station layout
  Railway station layout
  A railway station is a place where trains make scheduled stops. Stations usually have one or more platforms constructed alongside a line of railway. However, railway stations come in many different configurations - influenced by such factors as the geographical nature of the site, or the need to...
  
  
• Hikyō station
  Hikyo station
  A , or "secluded station," is the name for those train stations which are located off the beaten path and considered a place good for photographers and train fans seeking photos of historical trains and spectacular nature photos. The term originates in Japan and now is also used in other areas like...