The southernmost train station on mainland Japan, surrounded only by endless rice fields

Text & Photos /Kavanah

In early August 2013, after taking the Kirishima Open Air Museum Limited Express to Ibusuki and enjoying the famous sand bath, I walked back to Ibusuki Station, then took the Ibusuki Makurazaki Line to JR’s southernmost terminal station — “Nishidaisen” Station. Nishidaisen Station, which opened in 1960 and is located at 31 degrees 11 minutes north latitude, was once the southernmost station in Japan. However, after the Okinawa Urban Monorail began operations in 2003, the title of Japan’s southernmost station shifted to the monorail’s “Akamine” Station. But Nishidaisen Station remains the southernmost station on mainland Japan and also the southernmost station served by a standard railway line in Japan.

After getting off at Nishidaisen, I saw a sign that read “Japan’s Southernmost Station.”

The mountain ahead is Mount Kaimon.

The four extremities of Japanese JR stations.

Trains on the Ibusuki Makurazaki Line don’t run very frequently. On this day, I arrived at Nishidaisen at 17:31 and had to wait nearly two hours before the next train at 19:25. Friends planning to visit are advised to take the 13:36 train, which arrives at Nishidaisen at 14:17, so they can catch a return train to Ibusuki or Kagoshima at 14:17.

On the platform, besides the “Nishidaisen” sign, there is also a large sign reading “Japan’s Southernmost Station – Nishidaisen Station.”

The exterior of Nishidaisen Station.

Ahead is a canteen and tourist information center, but unfortunately, it was past business hours when I visited, so I couldn’t buy any souvenirs related to Japan’s southernmost station.

A view of the entire Nishidaisen Station taken from the canteen.

It would be another hour and a half before the train arrived... With nothing else to do, I wandered around. There was absolutely nothing near Nishidaisen Station except vast farmland.

After walking around, I returned to the platform and flipped through the guestbook... What did I think about upon arriving at Nishidaisen Station? At that moment, all I wanted was to get back to Kagoshima as quickly as possible.

At 18:43, a train bound for Makurazaki arrived. Since I’d already been at Nishidaisen for too long, I decided to hop on this train, ride a few stops forward, and then transfer back to Ibusuki.

On the way back, I passed Mount Kaimon under the evening glow. I sincerely recommend checking the train schedules in advance — otherwise, you might end up waiting at Nishidaisen Station for a long time, just like I did.

Kavanah @ Kyoto, living freely. A second life begins in Kyoto.