Engaru Station 🚉 A key turning point on the Sekihoku Main Line and a must-see for railway fans
#September's Best Places 2025
Engaru Station, located in Engaru-cho, Monbetsu-gun, Hokkaido, is a representative station on the JR Hokkaido Sekihoku Main Line. Its most distinctive feature is its unusual flat-bed speed bag structure, which requires all trains to turn around here, making it a stop. Station number A50, telegraph code number EN.
Originally opened as part of the Yubetsu Light Line, it became the junction of the Nayoro Main Line and the Sekihoku Main Line after the Sekihoku Line opened in 1932, assuming a strategically important position. The Nayoro Main Line was discontinued in 1989, leaving only the Sekihoku Main Line's turning point. Previously, it had a fan-shaped depot and a turntable, but today only the turntable remains, a valuable railway relic.
The station is a surface station with two sides and three tracks, one for single-track and one for island-track. Most trains use Platform 1, while regular trains stop at Platforms 2 or 3, respectively. The platforms are connected by overpasses. The station still retains internally illuminated signage from the JR era. Although the Nayoro Main Line is no longer in operation, the Monbetsu-Nayoro lightbox remains.
Engaru Station is manned, with ticket windows and automatic ticket vending machines, though it is unmanned during the morning and evening hours. It once housed a bento shop, a kiosk, and Kitaichi Soba, but these later closed. However, Kitaichi Soba was revived in 2025 through crowdfunding and has become a must-try for travelers.
This station is not only a transportation hub but also a microcosm of Engaru's history. Connecting Asahikawa and Abashiri, it witnessed the railway's rise and fall, and its unique circuitous route still attracts many railway enthusiasts.
📍 Iwami-dori Minami 1-chome, Engaru-cho, Monbetsu-gun, Hokkaido
🛤 JR Hokkaido Sekihoku Main Line
⭐ Flat-bed sports bag, remains of a turntable, and the culture of railway bentos and soba.