Timetable information
Departure data for this station is not available on this site.
Location
History
Watari Station opened on 10 November 1897 as a station of the private Nippon Railway. The company was nationalised on 1 November 1906, and the line was redesignated as the Jōban Line on 12 October 1909. JR East assumed operation on 1 April 1987. In September 2008 the station building was reimagined to share its facade with the adjacent Yūrikan complex housing the Watari Town Library and local museum, giving the structure a faux-castle appearance. The 11 March 2011 Tōhoku tsunami devastated the Jōban Line south of here; trains turned back at Watari until the line reopened to Hamayoshida on 16 March 2013, with service restored through to Sōma on 10 December 2016. An east-side ticket gate and elevator were inaugurated on 23 March 2022 to improve barrier-free access.
Notes
Watari's castle-themed exterior, shared with the neighbouring Yūrikan museum-library complex, earned it a place in the 2002 "Top 100 Stations of Tōhoku" selection.
Sources
- Wikipedia (English) (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia (日本語) (opens in a new tab)
- Photo: Mister0124 · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · Wikimedia Commons (opens in a new tab)
Last updated: 2026-06-09