History
Numazu Station opened on 1 February 1889 as part of the original Tōkaidō Main Line between Kōzu and Shizuoka. The first station building burned down in the Numazu fire of March 1913, the second in the fire of December 1926, and the fourth — built in 1937 — was destroyed in the Bombing of Numazu in July 1945. A fifth structure rose in 1953 and was rebuilt as today's station block in 1973. The Tanna Tunnel opening in December 1934 eliminated the long Gotemba detour and made Numazu a junction with what became the Gotemba Line. At JNR's breakup on 1 April 1987 the passenger station passed to JR Central, and TOICA service began in March 2008.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-06-09.
Where the English and Japanese sources differ, this account follows the Japanese source.
Notes
Until the Tanna Tunnel opened in 1934, every long-distance train stopped at Numazu to swap locomotives for the steep climb through Gotemba — a built-in delay that spawned the saying 'numazu made wa numazu-kuwazu' (drink and eat nothing before Numazu) among hungry travellers.