History
Niyama opened on 15 September 1936 as a signal point on the Hakodate Main Line, set on the line's twenty-per-mille climb to handle train crossings via a switchback. Around 1943 a downhill acceleration line replaced the switchback and informal passenger handling began, eventually growing through wartime evacuee and settler arrivals. The site became fully unstaffed on 1 November 1986. On 1 April 1987 the JNR split promoted it to a regular passenger station under JR Hokkaido. In June 2023 JR Hokkaido listed Niyama among 42 closure candidates; passenger service ended on 14 March 2026 and the location reverted to its signal-point status.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-06-09.
Notes
Local doctor Daidōji Koichi donated the land for the original 1943 station access road; a memorial stone and ukon-zakura tree commemorating him were placed in the station grounds in 1997.