Minami-Kumamoto Station

Minami-Kumamoto Station (南熊本駅) is a railway station on the Hōhi Main Line, operated by JR Kyushu in Chūō-ku, Kumamoto, Japan.

Lines
The station is served by the Hōhi Main Line and is located 3.6 km from the starting point of the line at Kumamoto.

Layout
The station consists of two side platforms serving two tracks at grade. The station building is a wooden structure of western design and houses a waiting area and a staffed ticket window. Access to the opposite side platform is by means of a footbridge.

Management of the station has been outsourced to the JR Kyushu Tetsudou Eigyou Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of JR Kyushu specialising in station services. It staffs the ticket booth which is equipped with a POS machine but does not have a Midori no Madoguchi facility.

History
On 21 June 1914, Japanese Government Railways (JGR) opened the Miyagi Light Rail Line (宮地軽便線) (later the Miyagi Line) from Kumamoto eastwards to Higo-Ōzu. On the same day, this station was opened with the name Harutake (春竹) as one of several intermediate stations along the track. By 1928, the track had been extended eastward and had linked up with the Inukai Line (犬飼線) which had been built westward from Ōita. On 2 December 1928, the entire track from Kumamoto to Ōita was designated as the Hōhi Main Line. On 1 May 1940, the station was renamed Minami-Kumamoto. 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.

Passenger statistics
In fiscal 2016, the station was used by an average of 970 passengers daily (boarding passengers only), and it ranked 170th among the busiest stations of JR Kyushu.