Think of train stations in Japan and the mighty Shinjuku station is sure to come to mind for many people. That is the world’s busiest train station, and Japan monopolises the top 50 list with only five of them not in this country. However, at the other end of the scale are some tiny stations which are usually unstaffed and used by very few commuters.

Station: Endō

Prefecture: Nagano

Line(s): Kamikōchi Line

Average No. of Daily Passengers: 27

This may well be the least used station in this series thus far, and it’s easy to see why.

There’s pretty much nothing in the station vicinity in terms of human activity for as far as the eye can see but who needs that when the views of the lush, green mountains nearby are so wonderful.

Whilst in Matsumoto for a day earlier this summer I decided to take a little detour to see this tiny rural station which has been in my Want To Go list on Google Maps for a few years now not that I have any memory of when I first came across it! I was the only one to disembark at Endō which is about a dozen kilometers from Matsumoto station. Sadly, for lovers of puns, it is not at the endō the line though!

This most simple of stations originally opened in September 1922, and has one ground-level side platform serving a solitary bi-directional track. New signage replaced the old ones a few years ago to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the foundation of Alpico Kōtsū; the private railway company that operates the Kamikōchi Line.

A mascot character for the Kamikochi Line (known as Nagisa Endo) seems to feature quite heavily on the main signs for some of the stations along this line not that I had any idea about any of that beforehand. Another pop cultural reference for Endō is that it was Uesugi Riko’s train station in ‘Love Generation‘ (1997); a Japanese TV series drama which was hugely popular at that time.

In my experience, even the most basic of stations have a toilet and a vending machine but this one has no such facilities beyond a simple wooden sheltered hut.

What’s quite interesting though is that there is an apple orchard opposite the waiting area on the platform. It was planted at the same time as when the anime-style sign was first installed, and it took 5 years for the trees to bear fruit! I must’ve walked through it to get one of the shots seen in this post but was kind of obvlivious to it until researching the place on my return. Remember folks that it’s always better to do your research ahead of any trip!

Click on the following links for previous ‘Unstaffed Stations of Japan’ posts…

1. Kamiyagi   #2. Funamachi   #3. Inazusa   #4. Yodo   #5. Nebukawa   #6. Miyamae   #7. Arao   #8. Higashi-Abiko   #9. Nukazawa   #10. Shin Shibaura   #11. Kubiki   #12. Kamakurakōkōmae   #13. Daishimae   #14. Minami-Takada   #15. Mochida   #16. Minami-Takasaki   #17. Screen   #18. Takio   #19. Igaya   #20. Sue   #21. Yotsutsuji