History
Bihoro Station opened on 5 October 1912 when the Railway Bureau's Abashiri Line was extended east from Nokkeushi (today's Kitami) to Abashiri. The line was renamed the Abashiri Main Line the following month, and in 1924 the Aioi Line branched off here toward Tsubetsu, making Bihoro a junction station until that branch was abolished on 1 April 1985. The third-generation station building, opened in December 1985 with funds from the Aioi Line closure compensation, doubled as a small transport museum. Bihoro passed to JR Hokkaido and JR Freight at the 1987 privatisation; JR Freight withdrew in 2002, and the staffed Midori-no-Madoguchi ticket counter closed on 1 May 2016, when ticketing moved to the adjacent Bihoro Tourism & Products Association.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-18.
Notes
Bihoro's Aioi Line bay platform was never lifted after the branch closed in 1985; the rails are gone but the platform survives, with flower beds in place of trackbed.