History
Nishi-Ei Station opened on 22 March 1960 as the terminus of the JNR Ibusuki Line extension from Yamakawa, in the Makinouchi district of Eichō in present-day Minamikyūshū. On 31 October 1963 the line was extended further west to Makurazaki and the stop became an intermediate station on the renamed Ibusuki Makurazaki Line. Parcel handling ended on 1 February 1984, and at the privatisation of Japanese National Railways on 1 April 1987 the station passed to JR Kyushu. On 3 June 1994 the last semaphore signal still in use on JR Kyushu, located here, was retired and was later preserved at Mojikō Station as a memorial. The stop is the only one beyond Yamakawa, besides Makurazaki, that still has a station building.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-22.
Notes
The platform sign was redesigned with a unique illustration of Mount Kaimon and the lake monster "Issie," reputed to inhabit nearby Lake Ikeda.