Karuizawa Station, c. 1935. Preserved today as a tourist attraction, the Karuizawa Station Building Memorial, it is adjacent to a modern facility opened in 1997 when high-speed Nagano Shinkansen service was established, replacing the Shinetsu Main Line inaugurated in 1893.

See also:
Karuizawa, c. 1920.
“Abt system railway at Usui Pass”, Karuizawa, c. 1910.
Climbing Mt. Asama, Karuizawa, c. 1920.
Swimming at the Seven Slope Pond, Karuizawa, c. 1930.

“A railway journey of about six hours from Tokyo brings the traveller to the little village of Karuizawa, some five or six miles, as the crow flies, from the base of [Mount] Asama.

“During the last hour by rail the train accomplishes a most interesting and picturesque ascent up a steep grade, by the Abt system, through no less than twenty-six tunnels of varying lengths, between which one is afforded delightful views of sinuous ravines and pine-clad mountains, with here and there a wildly dashing cataract leaping by some piney knoll.

“Complaint used to be made of the unpleasantly close air of the tunnels, not unmixed with locomotive fumes, but this has all been replaced duirng the last few months by an electric railway system, for which the many travellers in this direction will doubtless be grateful.

“Just before reaching the first tunnel there is to be had a charming view of the beautiful Myogi-san, with its mysterious array of rocky pinnacles and natural arches, flashing in the sunlight or slumberously embowered in mists.

“Upon emerging from the last tunnel the train stops at Karuizawa station, a short distance from which lies the tiny village along the foothills; while directly above looms the great cone of Asama, hugged by evening vapours or hurling endless shafts of coppery-hued lights into the blue sky.

“At the station jinrikishas are waiting to take one to one of the several good hotels, or to one’s own summer cottage, as the case may be.”

– Summering by Subterranean Fires, by Dr. J. Ingram Bryan, The Japan Magazine, August 1912