JR Kyushu is inviting the public to submit names for a new station scheduled to open in 2027 between Chihaya and Hakozaki stations on the Kagoshima Main Line.
The new station is located 2.3 km from Chihaya Station and 1.7 km from Hakozaki Station, and will connect to Nishi-Nippon Railroad (Nishitetsu) and Fukuoka City Subway Kaizuka Station via a new station plaza that is planned to be constructed. It will have two platforms and two tracks, with double tracks in between, and an elevated station building, and will also be equipped with elevators and barrier-free toilets.
In the area around the new station, new urban development is planned on the former site of Kyushu University. Kyushu University developed the Ito Campus (Nishi-ku, Fukuoka City) as a new site for its aging Hakozaki Campus (Higashi-ku, Fukuoka City), and completed the relocation by 2018. On the huge site of approximately 43 hectares, Fukuoka City is planning to develop an advanced model city based on the concept of “Fukuoka Smart East.”
The new station was requested by the council for the use of the site, and JR initially announced that it aimed to open in 2025. Kyushu University and the Urban Renaissance Agency, which own the site, then publicly solicited preferred negotiating parties for the land, but JR revised its schedule accordingly, pushing back the opening target by two years to 2027.
The application period runs from April 25 (Fri) to June 30 (Mon), 2025. Applications can be submitted via a web form or by postcard. Station name suggestions must be 15 characters or less, excluding the word “駅(station),” and symbols cannot be used. Station names will not be decided based on the number of submissions, but rather the final decision will be made by JR based on the submitted proposals.
