History
Chanai Station opened on 25 November 1919 with the Ministry of Railways' extension of the Kushiro Main Line (later the Nemuro Main Line) between Akkeshi and Attoko. The wooden station building was remodelled in March 1950 and remains in use; passenger-only operation continued under simple consignment from 1986 and the station became fully unstaffed in 1992. Control passed to JR Hokkaido at the 1987 JNR privatisation. The former ticket office now houses the "Fure-Chanaikan" exhibition corner displaying photographs and records of the 762 mm-gauge Hamanaka Town Railway, which had its office and depot here until the line closed in 1972.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-18.
Notes
Chanai is in Hamanaka Town, the home of Lupin III creator Monkey Punch, and life-size cut-outs of the Lupin characters stand inside the station building.