History
Kuzakai Station opened on 25 September 1928 as the terminus of an extension on the Yamada Line in what is now Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, becoming an intermediate stop two years later when the line reached Matsukusa. At 744 metres, it is the highest point on the Yamada Line and the highest railway station in the Tōhoku region. Freight service ended in stages between 1960 and 1970, parcel handling in 1982. The station passed to JR East at JNR's 1987 privatisation. Mudslide damage suspended service from 11 December 2015 until 5 November 2017. CTC signalling made the station unstaffed in April 2018, and a new station building opened in December 2020.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-18.
Notes
Kuzakai sits 744 m above sea level — the highest point on the Yamada Line and the highest station in the entire Tōhoku region — yet daily boardings averaged just one passenger in fiscal 2017.