Sasago Station, railway station in Otsuki, Yamanashi prefecture, Japan
Sasago Station is an above-ground railway station in Otsuki, on the Chuo Line operated by East Japan Railway Company. It runs without permanent staff and relies on automated ticket machines for passenger entry and exit.
The station opened in 1903 as part of the government-run national railway network that was gradually extending westward from Tokyo. It passed to East Japan Railway Company after the privatization of Japanese national railways in the late 1980s.
The area around the station is often used by hikers heading into the hills that surround this part of the Chuo Line corridor. On weekends, the platform sees a different crowd than on weekdays, when local commuters make up most of the passengers.
Because the station has no staff on site, it helps to have an IC card like Suica loaded in advance or to buy tickets before arriving. There are few shops or convenience stores in the immediate area, so it is worth stocking up before you get there.
Just outside the station, the old Sasago Tunnel was once one of the longest railway tunnels in Japan when it opened in 1903. It was eventually bypassed by a newer tunnel, but the original structure still exists and is part of the area's local memory.
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