History
JR Asakura Station opened on 15 November 1924, and Tosa Electric (later Tosa Electric Railway)'s Asakura-ekimae tram stop opened on 5 February 1925 (originally said to be named Asakura-ekimae-dōri). From the 1 October 1964 timetable revision some semi-express trains began stopping at the JR station. Delivery handling ended on 1 October 1969, less-than-carload freight on 1 June 1970, and parcel handling on 14 March 1985. On 23 December 1986 the present log-cabin (azekura-zukuri) station building was completed — built with the cooperation of Kōchi Forestry Administration Office, floor area 148.5 m². On 2 February 1987 Willy Winkie Asakura — the chain's first store — opened inside the station; control of the JR station passed to JR Shikoku at the JNR breakup on 1 April 1987. From the 21 November 1990 timetable revision some limited-express trains began stopping, and from 1 March 2005 the number of limited-express stops increased markedly. On 14 March 2008 the in-station Warp Plaza Asakura closed. On 1 October 2014 the tram stop became a Tosaden Kōtsū stop following the company merger. From October 2021 the Midori Ticket Vending Machine Plus came into use, and on 31 January 2022 the Midori-no-Madoguchi window closed, with reductions in staffed-window hours and closed days following.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-22.
Notes
Asakura is described on its station-board as 'the first log-cabin station of the old JNR' (旧国鉄初のログハウスの駅). It is the only JR station in Kōchi city with an in-platform level crossing for inter-platform movement, and the JR side once had a second siding alongside platform 2 (Track 3, since removed; the site is now a residential block). The Tosaden Asakura-ekimae tram stop sits on a road-running section so narrow that between this stop and Kamobe there is no room for safety-island platforms — boarding is shown only by white painted lines on the road surface.