Himeji

History

Himeji Station opened on 23 December 1888 as the western terminus of the privately built Sanyō Railway from Akashi. Unlike most early Japanese stations, it was placed right against the old city walls at the foot of Ōtemae-dōri, in part because the Imperial Army was garrisoned at Himeji Castle nearby. The Bantan Railway connected in 1894, the Kishin Line in 1930, and the Sanyō Shinkansen arrived on 15 March 1972. After the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake disrupted service, JR West undertook a major elevation project: conventional lines were lifted in March 2006 and the Bantan and Kishin lines followed in December 2008.

History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-18.

Notes

Himeji is the birthplace of the modern Japanese ekiben: the station's "Maneki" stall is credited with selling the first wrapped makunouchi bento on a train platform in 1889.