Yokokawa Station

Yokokawa Station sits at the foot of Usui Pass in Gunma Prefecture and has served as a terminus on JR East's Shinetsu Line since it opened in 1885. Historically it was the launching point for Japan's steepest rack railway, which hauled trains over the pass toward Nagano — a defining feat of Meiji-era engineering that ran until 1997. The station today hosts the Usui-tōge Tetsudō Bunkamura experience park, where retired locomotives and railway exhibits trace the line's legacy, drawing rail enthusiasts and families exploring the mountain foothills.