History
Kita-Yamagata Station opened on 20 July 1921 as an intermediate stop on the Aterazawa Light Railway. Ōu Main Line services began calling on 11 September 1927 and the Senzan West Line was added on 17 October 1933, producing the unusual Y-shaped track layout that still distinguishes the station. The station passed from Japanese National Railways to JR East at privatisation on 1 April 1987. On 2 July 1998 the Aterazawa Line was re-anchored to Kita-Yamagata, ending the duplicate stretch with the Ōu Main Line at Yamagata. A new west station building opened on 10 June 2014 and a new east building on 26 November 2016; Suica acceptance followed on 16 March 2024.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-18.
Notes
The east square in front of the station features a Manneken Pis statue installed in 1956, just over a quarter-century after the original in Brussels.