History
Hirakawa Station opened on 20 May 1934 when the Japanese Government Railways' then Ibusuki Line was extended south from its previous terminus at Goino. The route was renamed the Ibusuki Makurazaki Line on 31 October 1963, and the station passed to JR Kyushu on 1 April 1987 with the privatisation of JNR. Located in Kagoshima City, the above-ground station has a single side platform. It was destaffed on 10 May 1963 with the end of baggage handling, restaffed on 8 March 1983, and destaffed again on 30 May 2020 with the introduction of the remote-assistance "ANSWER" system. The station building was relocated 100 m towards Kagoshima on 1 July 1979. SUGOCA IC cards became usable from 1 December 2012.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-22.
Notes
Despite its name, Hirakawa Station is not the closest stop to Hirakawa Zoo — that title belongs to neighbouring Goino.