History
Ashiya Station opened on 12 April 1905 with the inauguration of the Hanshin Main Line. The Great Hanshin Earthquake of 17 January 1995 suspended the Hanshin Main Line and temporarily closed the station; partial service between Kōshien and Aoki resumed on 26 January 1995, with full Hanshin Main Line restoration on 26 June 1995. On 20 March 2009 - coinciding with the opening of the Hanshin Namba Line - the rapid limited express began stopping here, making the station a stop for all revenue trains. Station numbering (HS 20) was introduced on 1 April 2014. From 14 March 2020, weekend and holiday rapid limited express trains began passing through, and two up-bound morning peak express trains were redesignated as section-express stopping here. From 19 December 2022, weekday rapid limited express service stops were limited to the morning peak only.
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
Ashiya Station was selected for the 2nd 'Top 100 Stations of the Kinki Region'. Its platforms partly lie on a bridge over the Ashiya River, and because both ends of the station sit at the crest of an upward grade and have level crossings, sightlines are restricted - every train passing through, including deadhead movements, must sound its whistle. Hanshin Ashiya is the gateway to one of Japan's most famous luxury residential districts, with grand homes along both banks of the Ashiya River - the world of Tanizaki Junichiro's 'The Makioka Sisters' - and the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed former Yamamura House (an Important Cultural Property) on the uphill side. The contrast with the high-rise Ashiya-hama Seaside Town along the coast is striking. Although JR Ashiya draws more passengers as the city's commercial centre, Ashiya City Hall is right next to the Hanshin station on the south side, and the Ashiya Police Station is just to the north.