History
Higashi-Kunebetsu Station opened on 1 November 1986 on JNR's Esashi Line. The station passed to JR Hokkaido at privatisation on 1 April 1987. With the opening of the Hokkaido Shinkansen on 26 March 2016, Esashi Line passenger operations south of Goryōkaku were transferred from JR Hokkaido to the third-sector South Hokkaido Railway Company, and Higashi-Kunebetsu became a station on the renamed South Hokkaido Railway Line. The 37.8 km route now runs between Goryōkaku and Kikonai. The station has a single side platform serving one bidirectional track.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-18.
Notes
The station has changed operator twice without moving — JNR to JR Hokkaido in 1987, and JR Hokkaido to South Hokkaido Railway Company in 2016 when the Hokkaido Shinkansen took over the long-distance role.