History
Ashigase Station is on JR East's Kamaishi Line in Kamigō-chō Hosogoshi, Tōno, Iwate Prefecture, and at 473 m above sea level is the highest station on the line. It originated on 18 April 1914 as the Iwate Light Railway's Ashigase water-replenishment stop, was renamed a signal stop on 25 October 1914, and opened as a passenger station on 23 November 1915. The line was nationalised on 1 August 1936 and the section between Tōno and Ashigase was regauged from 762 mm to 1,067 mm by 10 October 1950, when the Kamaishi Line was completed via a new alignment through Kamiarisu; the original Ashigase–Sennintōge section was abandoned the day before.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-25.
Notes
Ashigase carries the Esperanto byname "Montopasejo" (mountain pass). The Kamaishi Line's SL Ginga sightseeing train passes through it without scheduled stops, but pauses 6–7 minutes operationally for vehicle inspection.