Ōzai Station

Ōzai Station (大在駅) is a passenger railway station located in Ōita City, Ōita Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by JR Kyushu. The station serves Ōzai, a village that has now been merged into Ōita City and is typically busy with commuter traffic. It is also the nearest station to the Nippon Bunri University located at the nearby Ōita suburb of Sakanoichi.

Lines
The station is served by the Nippō Main Line and is located 144.3 km from the starting point of the line at Kokura. The station is served by all local trains and by one Sonic express in each direction daily.

Layout
The station consists of a side platform and an island platform serving three tracks at grade. The station building is a modern concrete structure with a distinctive saw-tooth roof. It houses a waiting area, SUGOCA card readers and a staffed ticket window. Access to the island platform is by means of a footbridge. Bike sheds and parking are available at the station forecourt. Next to the station building is another footbridge which links the streets on both sides of the tracks. Although it is an unmanned station, automatic ticket vending machines are installed.

History
Japanese Government Railways (JGR) opened the station on 25 November 1924 as an additional station on the existing track of its Nippō Main Line. With the privatization of Japanese National Railways (JNR), the successor of JGR, on 1 April 1987, the station came under the control of JR Kyushu.

JR Kyushu had planned to convert Ōzai (with several other stations in Ōita City) into an unstaffed, remotely-managed "Smart Support Station" by 17 March 2018. After opposition from users, this move was postponed, pending works to improve accessibility. It was then introduced on July 1, 2023.

Passenger statistics
In fiscal 2016, the station was used by an average of 2,061 passengers daily (boarding passengers only), and it ranked 89th among the busiest stations of JR Kyushu.

Surrounding area

 * Nippon Bunri University