History
Suō-Hanaoka Station opened on 1932-05-29 as the temporary terminus of the Gantoku West Line, in what was then the village of Hanaoka and is today Suetake-kami, Kudamatsu, Yamaguchi Prefecture. A commemorative stone erected by the village marking the opening, along with a tree planted at the same time, still stand outside the station. The line was extended to Takamizu in 1934 and integrated into the Sanyō Main Line's new Iwakuni - Kushigahama alignment in December that year; it became the Gantoku Line in 1944 when the Sanyō Main Line reverted to its Yanai routing. Freight ended in 1961, parcels in 1984 and the station was contracted out in 1971. JR West took over at the 1987 privatisation, and the station was destaffed on 2000-04-01. The original 1932 mansard-roofed building remains in use.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-22.
Notes
Suō-Hanaoka still uses its original mansard-roofed station building from the 1932 opening, with the dedication monument and commemorative tree planted by Hanaoka Village preserved in the station forecourt.