History
Miyaji opened on 25 January 1918 as the eastern terminus of an extension of Japanese Government Railways' Miyaji Light Rail Line from Kumamoto. On 2 December 1928 it was linked up with Tamarai, the western terminus of the Inukai Line; the merged route was redesignated the Hōhi Main Line and Miyaji became an intermediate station on the through corridor. A locomotive depot, the Miyaji Engine Depot, operated within the station precincts from 1 August 1945 until 17 March 1964 — its turntable still survives. Freight handling ended on 15 November 1982, and JR Kyushu took over on 1 April 1987. On 1 October 2023 the station reverted from outsourced management to direct JR Kyushu staffing.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-22.
Notes
The 1943-built station building was deliberately designed to resemble the nearby Aso Shrine, and a turntable from the former Miyaji Engine Depot still survives in the yard south of the station.