Usui Pass
The station began service on December 1, 1888, as the terminal of the Japanese Government Railways between (near the Sea of Japan coast) and Karuizawa. The line was extended from Karuizawa to through the Usui Pass on April 1, 1893, completing the trunk line between (connecting to a Nippon Railway line to Ueno Station in Tokyo) and Naoetsu, which was later named the Shinetsu Main Line. At Karuizawa, all trains were coupled with or separated from helper locomotives that were required for all trains to go through the Usui Pass section.