History
Tsuwano Station opened on 5 August 1922 in Tsuwano, Shimane Prefecture, as the terminus of the government-built Tsuwano Line extended from Tokusa. The line was further extended to Iwami-Masuda (now Masuda) on 1 April 1923 and renamed the Yamaguchi Line. A small steam-locomotive depot opened with the station and survived in various forms until 1986. Freight ended on 1 April 1980 and parcel handling on 14 March 1985. JR West took over at JNR privatisation on 1 April 1987. The station, gateway to the "Little Kyoto of San'in" old-town district, became unstaffed on 1 December 2021 and was placed under a simplified contract from 6 August 2022. It remains the terminus of the steam excursion "SL Yamaguchi".
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
A retired JNR Class D51 locomotive (D51 194) is preserved on static display in front of the station.