A viral story about Kyu-Shirataki Station in Hokkaido has circulated for years, but the internet added some fiction. In July 2015, JR Hokkaido announced the closure of four low-ridership stops. A student, Kana Harada, used this station every morning for three years to attend high school. She was indeed the platform's only regular passenger.
However, major details were exaggerated by a viral 2016 Facebook post. The train was never specially created or rerouted for her; it already carried around ten other students from earlier stops. Furthermore, JR Hokkaido did not reverse a closure out of pure compassion—the station's final date was simply set for March 2016 to coincide with the end of the Japanese school year and her graduation.
While smaller than the myth, the true story remains a touching example of a rural community keeping a 69-year-old wooden station open just long enough to help its last student succeed.