History
Nakatsu Station opened on 25 September 1897 with the first-generation Hōshū Railway's extension between Yukuhashi and Yanagigaura. The line was acquired by the first-generation Kyushu Railway on 3 September 1901 and nationalised on 1 July 1907. The Yabakei Railway (later Ōita Kōtsū Yabakei Line) began running between Nakatsu and Toida (later Domon Station) on 26 December 1913. Work on elevating the station started in September 1971; freight handling ended on 1 November 1972, the up tracks were elevated on 17 April 1975, the Ōita Kōtsū Yabakei Line closed on 1 October 1975, and the present third-generation elevated station building was completed on 1 June 1977 at a cost of ¥5.45 billion. JR Kyushu took over at privatisation on 1 April 1987. From 4 February 2009 automatic ticket gates opened; SUGOCA card use began north of Nakatsu on 1 March 2009 and was extended south to Ōita on 1 December 2012. From 1 April 2026 a sub-stationmaster post will be added.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-22.
Notes
The platform features the 'longest hamo (pike conger) bench in Japan' — a 10-metre bench made from a typhoon-felled tree, installed in 1994 to promote Nakatsu's famous hamo cuisine. A bronze statue of Fukuzawa Yukichi — Nakatsu's most famous son and the face of the ¥10,000 banknote — stands in front of the north exit, and in March 2024 a 10,000-yen-note tile-mosaic artwork was installed on the north-side wall of the station.