History
Wakasa-Hongō Station opened on 3 April 1921 with the extension of the government-built Obama Line from Obama to Wakasa-Takahama. Freight handling was discontinued on 15 March 1973 and parcel handling on 1 February 1984. On 1 April 1987 the station passed to JR West at the JNR breakup. A new station building, salvaged and rebuilt from the "Windmill Station" pavilion of the 1990 International Garden and Greenery Exposition ("Hana Banpaku") in Osaka, opened on 17 July 1991, and the staffed ticket booth (Midori-no-Madoguchi) closed permanently on 10 March 2025. The station was named one of the Centennial Stations of Chūbu in 1999.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-22.
Notes
The unusual windmill-shaped station building was originally the "Windmill Station" pavilion at the 1990 Osaka Flower Expo, rebuilt with a steel frame after its move; a replica of the "Dream Express Yoshitsune" steam-locomotive demonstration train that ran at the Expo is displayed at the nearby "Information Crossroads Portal" facing National Route 27. Wakasa-Hongō is also the only railway station within the town of Ōi-chō.