Bakkai Station

Bakkai Station (抜海駅, Bakkai-eki) was a railway station located in the city of Wakkanai, Hokkaidō, Japan. It was operated by JR Hokkaido.^[1][2]

W78 Bakkai Station 抜海駅
regional rail
Bakkai Station in October 2017
General information
Location	Kutonebetsu, Bakkai-mura, Wakkanai-shi, Hokkaido 097-0036  Japan
Coordinates	45°19′0.7″N 141°38′40.4″E
Operated by	JR Hokkaido
Line(s)	Sōya Main Line
Distance	245.0 km (152.2 mi) from Asahikawa
Platforms	2 side platforms
Construction
Structure type	At grade
Accessible	No
Other information
Status	Unstaffed
Station code	W78
Website	Official website
History
Opened	25 June 1924 (1924-06-25)
Closed	14 March 2025 (2025-03-14)
Passengers
FY2020	2.6 daily
Services
Preceding station JR Hokkaido Following station Minami-Wakkanai W79 towards Wakkanai Sōya Main Line Local Yūchi W77 towards Asahikawa
Location Bakkai Station Location within Hokkaido Show map of Hokkaido Bakkai Station Bakkai Station (Japan) Show map of Japan

On 14 March 2025, the station was closed due to low number of passengers.^[3]

Lines

Bakkai Station was served by the 259.4 km (161.2 mi) Sōya Main Line from Asahikawa to Wakkanai, and lay 245.0 km from the starting point of the line at Asahikawa.^[4] The station was numbered "W78".

Layout

Bakkai Station was a ground-level station with two opposed side platforms, which formed a passing loop on the otherwise single-track line. The platforms were linked by a level crossing for passengers. The station was unstaffed, and was the northernmost unstaffed station in Japan during the years before its closure.

Platforms

1	■ Soya Main Line	for Wakkanai
2	■ Soya Main Line	for Horonobe and Nayoro

• 
  Bakkai Station building (From the platform side)
• 
  The platforms in October 2017
• 
  The passenger level crossing between the platforms in October 2017
• 
  Signboard

History

The station opened on 25 June 1924 with the opening of the Japanese Government Railways (JGR) Teshio North Line between Wakkanai Station (now Minami-Wakkanai Station) and Kabutonuma Station. On 25 September 1926 the Teshio South Line and Teshio North Line were merged and the line name was changed to Teshio Line, and on 1 April 1930 the Teshio Line was incorporated into the Sōya Main Line .^[4] With the privatization of Japanese National Railways (JNR), the successor of JGR, on 1 April 1987, JR Hokkaido took over control of the station.^[4]

In June 2023, this station was selected to be among 42 stations on the JR Hokkaido network to be slated for abolition owing to low ridership.^[5] The closure took place on 14 March 2025.^[3]

Passenger statistics

In fiscal 2020, the station was used by an average of 3.8 passengers daily.

Surrounding area

The station was located in the Kutonebetsu district on a hill approximately two kilometers inland away from the coastal settlement of Bakkai (former Bakkai Village). In front of the station, weeds grew everywhere except the road, and there were only a few dilapidated houses and sheds, no stores. Hokkaido Highway 510 Bakkai Kabutonuma Station Line passed near the station.

See also

• List of railway stations in Japan