History
Yatake Station opened on 21 November 1909 as part of the then-Kagoshima Main Line, on the steep inland route over the Yatake Pass. When the coastal route via Sendai was completed on 17 October 1927, the inland section was redesignated as the Hisatsu Line and Yatake reassigned to it. A steam locomotive exhibition hall was added on the station premises in 1972 to display a preserved D51 170. Freight ended in 1974, baggage in 1984, and the station became unstaffed in November 1986. JR Kyushu inherited it in 1987. In 2007 the station and its locomotive were designated industrial heritage, and the line has been suspended since flooding on 4 July 2020.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-22.
Notes
At about 536.9 metres, Yatake is the highest-elevation station on the Hisatsu Line, and its yard preserves a D51-class steam locomotive (D51 170) along with the original timber station building.