History
Ōsawa Station opened on 28 May 1949 in Minamiuonuma, Niigata, on the Jōetsu Line operated by Japanese National Railways. The site began as the Echigo-Ōsawa signal point on 10 November 1943, established during the Second World War to expand passing facilities for wartime freight traffic. Because the grade through the yard exceeded the 10-permil limit, an acceleration siding was originally provided and right-side running was used; the siding was removed in September 1966 when the section to Ishiuchi was double-tracked. The station became unstaffed in December 1970, and on 1 April 1987 it passed to JR East with the privatisation of JNR.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-18.
Notes
The station sits on the eastern slope of a hill above Ōsawayama Onsen, and during the ski season the Ōsawakan ryokan sends a courtesy car to meet each arriving train.