History
Sanonowatashi Station opened on 22 December 2014 on the Jōshin Dentetsu Jōshin Line, serving the Kamisano district of Takasaki in Gunma Prefecture. The station was built as a requested halt at the urging of local residents, with the name and a set of design panels - the entrance arch, station signs and platform fencing - chosen through a public competition open to elementary and junior-high pupils across Gunma in February 2014; the results were announced on 21 May 2014 and the awards ceremony held the following day. The name commemorates a former ferry crossing (watashi) on the nearby Karasugawa River. Opening had originally been planned for October 2014 and slipped to December.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-18.
Notes
The competition-selected design elements pay homage to local history: the entrance arch evokes a ferry boat, the station signage features the line's vintage Deki 1-type electric locomotive, and the platform panels depict scenes from the Noh play Hachi no Ki (Sano Genzaemon Tsuneyo).