The station building is an old wooden structure where the floorspace is shared with a post office and the local tourism information centre.

The track was extended westwards in phases, with Ogata opening as the new western terminus on 23 November 1922.

By 1928, the track had been extended further west and had linked up with the Miyagi Line (宮地線) reaching eastwards from Kumamoto.

On 2 December 1928, the entire track from Kumamoto through Makiguchi to Ōita was designated as the Hōhi Main Line.

With the privatization of Japanese National Railways (JNR), the successor of JGR, on 1 April 1987, the station came under the control of JR Kyushu.