Ikawa Station

Ikawa Station sits at 686 metres above sea level in the upper Ōi River valley of the Akaishi Mountains, making it the highest railway station in Shizuoka Prefecture. Operated by the Ōigawa Railway since 1959, it serves one of the most sparsely populated corners of Aoi-ku district. The journey itself is the draw — the narrow-gauge line winds through steep gorges with dense forest walls and almost no road traffic running parallel. At the terminus, hikers find trails leading into the Akaishi range and a degree of mountain quiet rarely encountered this close to the greater Shizuoka area.