History
Kii-Yura Station opened on 28 October 1928 in Yura, Wakayama Prefecture, when the JGR Kisei-Nishi Line (today's Kisei Main Line) was extended from Yuasa. The line had been routed via Yura after local petitioning prevailed over a rival proposal through Higashi-Uchihara, the village's cement works and the suitability of Yura harbour proving decisive. On 21 April 1929 the line reached Gobō, and a freight branch to Yura-uchi opened simultaneously. The Kisei Main Line was completed in 1959; the branch closed on 1 June 1968 and station freight ended on 1 October 1971. JNR privatisation on 1 April 1987 transferred operations to JR West, ICOCA began on 14 March 2020, and the station became unstaffed all day on 1 June 2021.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-18.
Notes
In 1925 the village petitioned the Railway Ministry to add a harbour branch line, fearing the new mainline station — sited away from both the village centre and the port — would leave Yura harbour to decline.