History
Kami-Sendai Station opened on 1 July 1922 as a station of the Ministry of Railways' Sendai Line. On 17 October 1927, when the Yunoura–Minamata section opened, the segment from Yatsushiro through Sendai to Kagoshima — including Kami-Sendai — was incorporated into the Kagoshima Main Line. The station building was rebuilt in reinforced concrete on 25 March 1952. Cargo handling was abolished on 1 September 1961. Parcel handling was abolished and the station made unstaffed (with simplified entrustment) on 21 August 1970 when CTC was introduced; the Kami-Sendai station-master post was abolished and the station became managed by Sendai Station. The station building was refurbished in March 1978. Simplified entrustment ended and the station became fully unstaffed on 14 March 1983. With the breakup and privatisation of JNR on 1 April 1987, the station passed to JR Kyushu. On 13 March 2004, with the opening of the Kyushu Shinkansen, the station was transferred to the Hisatsu Orange Railway. Turnback trains terminating at Kami-Sendai ended on 17 March 2012. On 1 October 2019, when station numbering was introduced, the English signage was changed from "Kami Sendai" to "Kami-Sendai".
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-22.
Notes
The Kami-Sendai name derives from the station being located on the upper (north) side of the Sendai River relative to Sendai Station — historically this north bank was called "Sendai" and the south bank, where Sendai Station now sits, was called "Sengai" (outside-the-river). Because the Sendai River bridge is about 250 m long, in typhoons or other severe weather Sendai-bound trains sometimes turn back at Kami-Sendai; in such cases a staff member is temporarily posted. In JR Kyushu days a unique station signboard modelled on the torii of nearby Nitta Shrine stood here, but it was removed when the platforms were raised on transition to the Hisatsu Orange Railway.