History
The station on the Takasaki Line opened on 28 July 1883 as the original terminus of Nippon Railway's first 1st-period line from Ueno, and it is one of the oldest stops on the line. The Chichibu Railway forerunner (then Jōbu Railway) opened its platform on 7 October 1901, and the operator was renamed Chichibu Railway in February 1916. Jōetsu Shinkansen platforms opened on 15 November 1982, and the station passed to JR East at the 1987 privatisation. The Az department store opened on 24 April 1987 and the Tiara 21 east entrance opened on 20 November 2004. Chichibu Railway PASMO acceptance began on 12 March 2022.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-18.
Notes
Kumagaya is reputed to be the birthplace of the Japanese station bento — local accounts say sushi and bread were first sold here in July 1883 — and a tiled cooling-mist installation at each plaza entry sprays vapour from May to October whenever the temperature exceeds 28 °C with low humidity and little wind.