History
Miinohara Station, in the town of Okuizumo in Shimane Prefecture, opened on 24 December 1949 as a seasonal Kisuki Line halt for skiers visiting the newly opened Miinohara Ski Resort. The Miinohara plateau had been settled only in the postwar reclamation effort, and residents campaigned for railway access; the original platform was built by the community itself. It was promoted to a full station on 1 September 1958, with local funds covering the station building. JR West inherited the station at privatisation in 1987, and a new building replaced the original in December 2014. At 727 metres, it is the highest station on the JR West network.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-06-09.
Where the English and Japanese sources differ, this account follows the Japanese source.
Notes
At 727 metres above sea level, Miinohara is the highest-altitude station on the entire JR West network, and bears the nickname "Takamagahara," the mythological dwelling of the Shinto gods.