Hofu

Weekday departures: 52/day · Sat & holiday departures: 52/day

First / last departure (weekday): 5:17 / 23:44

Busiest hour: 20:00–21:00 (5)

0:00 ─ 23:00

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

Timetable data as of 2 May 2026.

• JR Sanyo Main Line: Daido ⇄ Tonomi

Hōfu Station opened on 17 March 1898 as Mitajiri Station, the terminus of the San'yō Railway when the line was extended west from Tokuyama. The following year, Japan's first dining-car express began running between here and Kyoto, and in April 1900 the country's first sleeper train started between Kobe and Mitajiri. The line was nationalised in 1906 and became part of the San'yō Main Line in 1909. The station was renamed Hōfu on 1 November 1962, and JR West took over operation when JNR was privatised in 1987. A 1975-launched grade-separation project culminated in an elevated single-island-platform station that opened to down trains in October 1993 and to all traffic in May 1994.

Japan's first dining-car express train began service from Mitajiri to Kyoto on 25 May 1899, and the country's first sleeper train followed on 8 April 1900, both originating at what is now Hōfu Station.