Himeji

Weekday departures: 429/day · Sat & holiday departures: 429/day

First / last departure (weekday): 5:04 / 24:08 (00:08 next day)

Busiest hour: 18:00–19:00 (32)

0:00 ─ 23:00

Figures are typical departures in the timetable data, not a live service count.

Timetable data as of 17 April 2026 to 2 May 2026: the timetables behind these figures were retrieved on different dates.

• San'yo Shinkansen: Aioi (Hyogo) ⇄ Nishi-Akashi
• JR Sanyo Main Line: Higashi-Himeji ⇄ Agaho
• JR Bantan Line: Kyoguchi
• Kishin Line: Harima-Takaoka

Himeji Station opened on 23 December 1888 as the western terminus of the privately built Sanyō Railway from Akashi. Unlike most early Japanese stations, it was placed right against the old city walls at the foot of Ōtemae-dōri, in part because the Imperial Army was garrisoned at Himeji Castle nearby. The Bantan Railway connected in 1894, the Kishin Line in 1930, and the Sanyō Shinkansen arrived on 15 March 1972. The 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake cut the Shinkansen between Shin-Ōsaka and Himeji until 8 April that year. Separately, a project to elevate the conventional lines had been in preparation since 1989: the JR Kobe Line and San'yō Main Line platforms moved onto the viaduct in March 2006, and the Bantan and Kishin lines followed in December 2008.

Himeji is credited as the birthplace of the Japanese ekiben: the first full-fledged station boxed lunch in Japan is said to have been sold here in 1889, the year after the station opened.