Shimonoseki

Weekday departures: 171/day in the available timetable data · Sat & holiday departures: 171/day in the available timetable data

Earliest / latest departure in the available data (weekday): 5:35 / 23:55

Busiest hour in the available data: 17:00–18:00 (13)

0:00 ─ 23:00

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

Timetable data as of 2 May 2026.

The timetable data is incomplete for some or all lines at this station, so the weekday and Sat & holiday figures are departures in the available timetable data, not totals.

Lines where the timetable data is complete: JR Sanyo Main Line

Lines where the timetable data is incomplete:

• San'yo Main Line: only trains from timetables filed under other lines

• San'yo Main Line: Moji
• JR Sanyo Main Line: Hatabu

Shimonoseki Station opened on 27 May 1901 as Bakan Station (馬関駅), the terminus of the San'yō Railway extension from Asa, sited about 700 m east of today's station in Hosoechō. The name 'Bakan' was an abbreviation of 'Akamagaseki', the city's name at the time. The station was renamed Shimonoseki on 1 June 1902 with the city renaming, and from this station services such as the Kanmon Renrakusen ferry (to Kyushu) and the Kanpu Renrakusen ferry (to the Korean peninsula) connected onwards. Japan's first limited-express train began running in 1912, making the station a hub for international through-services. After the San'yō Railway was nationalized on 1 December 1906 it became a national-rail station; the Kanmon Tunnel opened on 1 July 1942 (freight only at first), with the station facilities relocated to their current site on 15 November 1942. The Kanmon Renrakusen ferry was abolished on 31 October 1964. Since 1 April 1987 it has been the JR West / JR Kyushu boundary station (the line east of the station is under JR West, the line west under JR Kyushu), and it also serves as a JR Freight depot. The last regular limited-express service to call at the station, the 'Fuji/Hayabusa', ran on 14 March 2009.

Shimonoseki Station was for decades the Honshū-side transfer point for the Kanmon Renrakusen ferry to Moji in Kyushu and for the Kanpu Renrakusen ferry to the Korean peninsula. After the Kanmon Tunnel opened in 1942 the ferry services were progressively wound down; the Kanmon Renrakusen was abolished on 31 October 1964.