History
Aso-Shimoda Station opened on 12 February 1928 on what was then the Japanese Government Railways Takamori Line. It became unstaffed on 20 February 1971, and on 1 April 1986 the line and station were transferred from Japanese National Railways to the third-sector Minamiaso Railway. On 1 August 1993 a new castle-styled station building was completed and the station was renamed Aso-Shimodajō-Fureai-Onsen, advertising its attached hot spring. The 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes damaged the line's bridges and tunnels and forced operations to suspend. When through service was restored on 15 July 2023, the onsen was abandoned and the station was renamed Aso-Shimodajō Station.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-22.
Notes
The driveway-side station building still mimics the silhouette of Shimoda Castle, which once stood near the site during the Tenshō era (late 16th century).