History
Ikeda Station opened on 15 December 1904 as a general station with the opening of the Hokkaido Government Railway between Toshibetsu and Urahoro; the Ikeda Locomotive Depot was established the same day. On 22 September 1910 the Abashiri Line (later Abashiri Main Line, then Ikebetsu Line) to Rikubetsu opened. Freight and parcel handling ended in 1984 and 1985, the locomotive depot closed in March 1985, and the station passed to JR Hokkaido with privatisation on 1 April 1987. The connecting Ikebetsu Line was transferred to the Hokkaido Chihoku Highland Railway on 4 June 1989 as the Furusato Ginga Line, which itself closed on 21 April 2006. Following the line-speed upgrade completed in 1996/1997, all regular passenger trains began stopping here from 22 March 1997 — until a single down 'Ōzora' train was set to pass on the 15 March 2025 timetable.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-22.
Notes
The station-name origin traces to Ikeda Nakahiro — fifth son of the last Tokugawa shogun Yoshinobu — who opened the 'Ikeda Farm' here in 1896 near the confluence of the Toshibetsu and Tokachi rivers; the town was renamed Ikeda in 1926 in step with the station and area's growth. The closing chime for passenger trains is the music-box tune of Yoshida Miwa (DREAMS COME TRUE), who hails from Ikeda; it has been used since 20 April 2010.