Moji Station was opened as the starting station for the Kyushu Railway Company in 1891. Back then, Moji Station was constructed on a site approximately 200 meters away from the current location of Mojiko Station, but as the Mojiko District developed, the station was moved to its current location in 1914, when a second Moji Station was newly constructed. In 1942, the name was changed to the present-day Mojiko Station. Kyushu Railway was created as Kyushu’s first railway company in 1888. From the start, it placed importance on operations that connect to Honshu. Therefore, Moji Station was established as a base for railway traffic, and the head office was also moved from the temporary office in Hakata to Moji. Kyushu Railway was placed under government control in July 1907. Moji Station continued to develop as the gateway to Kyushu. Moji cemented its status as the headquarters of the Kyushu Railway Administration Office and the distributing center for goods such as coal and rice. However, with the completion of the Kanmon Tunnel in April 1942, the old Dairi Station was renamed “Moji Station”, and the name changed to Mojiko Station. Furthermore, Mojiko Station came under ownership of Japan National Railways after the war, and then the property of the Kyushu Railway Company in 1987. Later, the head office functions were moved to the Hakata District in Fukuoka City and its cohesive power as the center of the Kyushu railroad was lost, but thedignified building has come to have a symbolic presence in the Mojiko Retro District. The 2-story station building was constructed under the supervision of the German engineer, Hermann Rumschöttel. Though it is a wooden structure, the outer walls are made of mortar fashioned to give the appearance of stone. A copper mansard roof on top provides the exterior design with its dignified, Neo-Renaissance style. The existing station building is a valuable historical structure comparable to Tokyo Station. In 1988, it was the first railway station in Japan to be designated a national important cultural property. From the Meiji period (1868–1912) to the early Showa era (1926–1989), the railroad was divided into 1st-class, 2nd-class, and 3rd-class carriages. The station waiting rooms were also divided. The 3rd-class waiting room was to the right of the 1st-floor entrance. On the left were the 1st and 2nd class waiting rooms. A mantlepiece still remains in the location where a waiting room once existed. On the 2nd floor, there is a VIP room and dining hall that in the past were crowded with the upper class who socialized there. Today, the station building is undergoing extensive preservation and repair work due to deterioration. Large-scale repairs are scheduled to be completed by 2019 when it will have a new, fresh appearance.
