Without an entrance or exit, an isolated train station might be the most bizarre in the world.

There are thousands of train stations worldwide, serving as essential hubs for passengers before or after embarking on their journey. Some are made up of more than 24 platforms, others resemble a shopping centre with over 140 stores, while others stretch beyond 4,000 ft – there are even those nestled high in the mountains that you might not know even existed.

The Seiryu Miharashi Station in Japan is a secluded train station nestled among acres of lush forests between Naguwa and Nekasa Station. Bizarrely, there are no roads or footpaths that lead to the station, and it’s only accessible by train due to its rural location.

This means that no travellers can enter or exit the train station. Once you’re on the platform, there’s nowhere to go. But that’s precisely why it opened in March 2019, after a whopping 112 million yen (around £536,000) was spent, to serve as a viewing platform for marvelling at the vista.

The sole platform offers spectacular views across the sprawling Japanese countryside and the majestic Nishiki River. However, its secluded spot also made construction of the train station a rather daunting task, as materials had to be transported by train after the last service of the day.

While the views are certainly worth it, the station reportedly attracts fewer than 1,000 visitors a year, a stark contrast to its prediction of 5,000 annually. This could be down to there only being a special train service that stops at the viewing point, which needs to be booked in advance and carry a minimum of 15 passengers for the service to run.

Other railway services run on the Nishikigawa Seiryū Line through the train station, but they do not stop. So if you’re a traveller on board, you’ll have to be quick to catch a glimpse of the view as you whizz by.

In a Reddit post, some travellers were left baffled by the isolated train station, with one calling it “the twilight zone”. A second commented: “The concept is nice, needs like seating or something though? I could see stopping here for a while to chill and eat and catching the next train but that doesn’t seem possible really. Odd choice.”

A third quipped: “You enter by train. You exit by train.” A fourth wrote: “Ngl, that’s a beautiful area and not letting people go down to it is a good idea sadly.”

“Once I missed my stop on the bus and had to get off on the next one. This is exactly what it felt like, haha. Completely surrounded by cliffs and highways. No idea why these exist,” another shared. One more simply said: “It’s remarkable really.”

One visitor who had experienced it for themselves shared on Facebook: “It’s as it says and as it looks. Pretty train ride to and from up the valley. The station is quite serene, the downside is there is a road on the other side of the river that dampens the experience somewhat.”

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