History
Naka-Handa Station opened on 1 April 1914 as the western terminus of the Japanese Government Railways' Inukai Light Rail Line out of Ōita. It became a through-station on 1 September 1916 when the line was extended west to Takenaka, and was incorporated into the new Hōhi Main Line on 2 December 1928 once track had connected through to Kumamoto. After JNR's 1987 privatisation, the station passed to JR Kyushu. Plans to convert it into a remotely-managed Smart Support Station in March 2018 were delayed by user opposition pending accessibility upgrades; the system was finally introduced on 1 July 2023, leaving the station unstaffed.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-22.
Notes
In July 1992 the station's three remaining staff members all happened to be women after a routine personnel rotation.