History
Yanai Station opened on 25 September 1897 as Yanaitsu Station on the San'yō Railway when the line was extended from Hiroshima to Tokuyama. The railway was nationalised in 1906 and the route was redesignated the San'yō Main Line in 1909. The station took its present name on 20 April 1929. A locomotive depot stood on the south side from the station's 1897 opening until it closed in 1984; the switchyard lingered until the tracks were lifted in 1996 and the site was redeveloped into a shopping centre and apartments. Control passed to JR West with the 1 April 1987 privatisation of Japanese National Railways.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-18.
Notes
WEST EXPRESS Ginga has stopped here on its northbound Osaka runs since 12 December 2020, and during the fifteen-minute layover the station concourse turns into a pop-up stall selling chicken-chicken-gobō, Yanai burgers and other local specialities.