Doai Station

Doai Station (土合駅, Doai-eki) is a passenger railway station in the town of Minakami, Gunma, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is jokingly known as "Japan's Number One Mole Station" (日本一のモグラ駅, Nippon ichi no mogura eki)^[1] because passengers must make a 10 minute descent down 486 steps into a tunnel in order to reach the northbound platform.^[2][1] It is the deepest train station in Japan.^[3][1]

Sign at the bottom of the main staircase.

English translation: "Welcome to 'Japan's No. 1 Mole Station'"

The staircase is 338 meters long and has 462 steps. Climb the stairs and go through the connecting passageway 143 meters (24 steps) to reach the ticket gate. The elevation of the down platform is 583 meters above sea level, while the station building is 653.7 meters, meaning the difference in elevation between the station building and the down platform is 70.7 meters. It takes about 10 minutes to reach the ticket gate. Please be mindful of your step when entering.

Doai Station 土合駅
Doai Station entrance in April 2016
General information
Location	218-2 Yubiso, Minakami Town, Tone District, Gunma Prefecture 379-1728 Japan
Coordinates	36°49′52.8″N 138°58′1.6″E
Operated by	JR East
Line(s)	Jōetsu Line
Distance	69.3 km (43.1 mi) from Takasaki
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Construction
Structure type	At grade and underground
Depth	70 m (230 ft)
Platform levels	2
Other information
Status	Unstaffed
Website	Official website
History
Opened	19 December 1936; 88 years ago (1936-12-19)
Passengers
FY2013	19 daily
Services
Preceding station JR East Following station Yubiso towards Takasaki Jōetsu Line Tsuchitaru towards Nagaoka
Location Doai Station Location within Gunma Prefecture Show map of Gunma Prefecture Doai Station Doai Station (Kanto Area) Show map of Kanto Area Doai Station Doai Station (Japan) Show map of Japan

Lines

Doai Station is served by the Joetsu Line, and lies 69.3 km (43.1 mi) from the starting point of the line at Takasaki.

Services

As of January 2024^[update], there are 8 services per day in each direction, with gaps of 1–3 hours between services.^[4] Southbound services operate to Minakami while northbound services operate to Nagaoka. All services are Local trains, stopping at every station. Freight trains (hauled by electric locomotives) also use both platforms.

Station layout

Doai Station is unusual in that it has two single side platforms which are located approximately 400 metres (1,300 feet) from each other^[5] – one of which is at ground level, and the other is located 70 metres (230 ft) underground within the Shin-Shimizu Tunnel.^[2]

The underground platform (for northbound trains to Echigo-Yuzawa and Nagaoka) is located 70 metres (230 ft) underground, in the middle of the 13,500 metres (44,300 feet) long Shin-Shimizu Tunnel. It is only reachable by descending 486 stairs, as there are no elevators or escalators.^[5][6] Access from the ticket gate is through a 143 metres (469 feet) covered connecting passageway (with 2 small flights of stairs with 12 steps each) which crosses both National Route 291 and the Yuhiso River, then entering a tunnel and descending another 462 steps to the platform.

The underground platform, which takes 10 minutes to descend to from the ticket gate, has a small waiting room.^[6] It used to have a toilet but it was closed around 2022.

The above-ground platform for southbound trains (to Minakami) is at ground level.^[6] It is accessible (i.e. no steps) from the ticket gate, although there are stairs at the entrance to the station building.

The station is unattended.^[7] It was attended prior to 14 March 1985.^[8] There are no ticket machines,^[7] only a boarding certificate issuing machine.^[2] Suica and other IC cards are not accepted at Doai Station.^[2][7]

Platforms

1 (underground)	■ Joetsu Line	Northbound for Echigo-Yuzawa, Urasa and Nagaoka
2 (aboveground)	■ Joetsu Line	Southbound for Minakami

• 
  Station building seen from the ground-level platform, July 2021
• 
  Ground platform, July 2021
• 
  Underground platform, July 2021
• 
  Platform waiting room, July 2021
• 
  Windbreaking structure in the connecting passageway, July 2021
• 
  Stairs from the underground platform, July 2021
• 
  The underground northbound platform
• 
  The bottom of the steps at the underground platform
• 
  The ground-level southbound platform
• 
  Welcome sign at the station entrance
• 
  Step 462 at the top of the main staircase
• 
  Step number 486, the final step when ascending from the underground platform

History

• The single track Joetsu Line between Minakami and Echigo-Yuzawa opened in 1931, using the 9,702 m (31,831 ft) Shimizu tunnel which includes two spiral loops.
• Doai station opened on 19 December 1936.^[9]
• The Joetsu Line was duplicated from single track to double track, opening in 1967, using the 13,500 m (44,300 ft) Shin-Shimizu tunnel. Advancements in tunneling enabled construction of a more direct route yet deeper tunnel compared to the original Shimizu tunnel. As a result, passengers catching northbound trains at Yubiso and Doai stations do so from platforms situated underground within the Shin-Shimizu tunnel. In conjunction, the current station building was opened in 1967.^[6]
• The Joetsu Shinkansen opened in 1982. Due to the shift of most passengers to the Shinkansen, most of the express trains on the Joetsu Line ceased operating, and the remaining ones were gradually removed as Joetsu Line passenger numbers decreased.^{[citation needed]}
• With the privatization of Japanese National Railways (JNR) on 1 April 1987, the station came under the control of JR East.^[9]

In popular media

The climb up the steps from the underground platform features at the start of the novel Seventeen (in Japanese, Climber's High) by Hideo Yokoyama, as well as in the NHK dramatization and the movie version Climber's High. It also makes an appearance in the manga and anime series Encouragement of Climb as a destination prior to climbing Mount Tanigawa, west of the site.

Online sources state it is haunted, and as such has become a local ghost hunting spot.^[10]

Surrounding area

• Mount Tanigawa (one of the "100 famous mountains in Japan")
• National Route 291

See also

• List of railway stations in Japan