Doai Station is a station on the JR East Jōetsu Line in Yubiso, Minakami Town, Gunma Prefecture. Located at the foot of magnificent Mount Tanigawa, the station is famous throughout Japan for its unusual structure and is affectionately known as the “Mole Station,” or “Japan’s deepest station.”
Combining the appeal of a mountain destination with the atmosphere of a railway heritage site, Doai Station is much more than a transportation stop. The station itself has become a unique tourist attraction.
The most distinctive feature of Doai Station is its lower platform, which is located deep underground inside the Shin-Shimizu Tunnel. There is a vertical difference of approximately 70 meters between the station building on the surface and the underground platform.
The two levels are connected by a long staircase measuring approximately 338 meters and consisting of 462 steps. Including another 24 steps along the connecting passage, visitors must climb or descend a total of 486 steps. Walking from the ticket gate to the underground platform takes approximately 10 minutes.
The staircase stretches almost straight ahead, with benches provided along the way for those who need a rest. Regularly spaced lights on the walls create an atmospheric setting that can feel like exploring an underground temple or a dungeon.
As visitors descend step by step from the brightness of the surface, the temperature gradually drops and the air becomes noticeably cooler. The underground area remains at around 15°C throughout the year, providing a naturally cool environment even on the hottest summer days.
One of the first things visitors notice upon arriving is a playful welcome sign reading “Welcome to Japan’s Mole Station, Doai.” Part of the lettering incorporates a cute mole illustration, adding a distinctive touch to the station.
The station building itself features a mountain lodge-style design with a triangular roof inspired by Mount Tanigawa. The exterior walls incorporate quartz diorite excavated during the construction of the Shin-Shimizu Tunnel.
The building blends beautifully with the surrounding mountain landscape and creates a welcoming atmosphere for visitors.
The history of Doai Station began in 1931, when it was established as a signal station following the opening of the Jōetsu Line between Minakami and Echigoyuzawa.
Passenger services began the following year, initially only during the ski season, and the station was officially upgraded to a railway station in 1936.
As the popularity of Mount Tanigawa climbing and skiing grew, the station became increasingly busy. During the opening of the Mount Tanigawa climbing season in 1960, the platform was reportedly filled with climbers arriving on overnight trains, with long lines forming at the ticket gates.
In 1967, the opening of the Shin-Shimizu Tunnel allowed the railway to become double-tracked, creating the underground platform seen today. This dramatic change in the station’s structure was the beginning of its identity as the “Mole Station.”
Doai became an unattended station in 1985. It was later selected as one of the 100 Best Stations in the Kanto Region in 2000, and in 2017 it was recognized as a Civil Engineering Heritage Site by the Japan Society of Civil Engineers as part of the group of facilities associated with the Shimizu Tunnels.
The upbound platform, serving trains toward Minakami, Takasaki, and Ueno, is located at ground level beside the station building. It is a simple one-sided platform with a single track.
The platform was formerly an island platform but was changed to its current configuration after the railway was double-tracked. Waiting for a train amid the quiet mountain scenery creates a nostalgic atmosphere.
The downbound platform, serving Echigoyuzawa, Nagaoka, and Niigata, is a single-sided platform with one track located underground.
Watching a train emerge into the dim tunnel space is an impressive sight that attracts not only railway enthusiasts but also many curious travelers.
The platform was formerly located alongside a passing track, but during improvement works in 2008, it was moved beside the main track and raised. It now has an effective length sufficient for trains of up to six cars.
Doai Station is currently an unstaffed station. There is no automatic ticket vending machine, and passengers can obtain a boarding station certificate from a machine near the ticket gates.
Station staff may be dispatched from Minakami Station when special trains are operated. The station building has a waiting room and a restroom on the surface level, while the restroom on the underground platform is currently closed.
In 2020, the glamping facility DOAI VILLAGE opened next to the station. It makes use of a former storage area for tunnel construction materials and offers a unique accommodation experience combining nature with railway heritage.
A café called “mogura” has also opened inside the station building, providing a relaxing place for climbers and tourists.
The consistently cool temperature of the underground space has also been used for innovative projects such as aging locally produced craft beer, giving the historic station a new role in the local tourism scene.
Doai Station is also known as a gateway to Mount Tanigawa. The Doai-guchi Station of the Tanigawadake Yoccho by Hoshino Resorts, formerly known as the Tanigawadake Ropeway, is approximately 20 minutes on foot from the station and provides access to Tenjindaira.
The surrounding mountains include Mount Shiroge, Mount Kasagatake, and Mount Takakura, making the area popular with hikers and climbers.
In the past, many mountain climbers used Doai Station as their starting point. Today, however, buses from Minakami Station and Jōmō-Kōgen Station are more commonly used because of the opening of the Jōetsu Shinkansen and improvements to the Kan-Etsu Expressway.
Even so, the number of visitors coming specifically to experience the famous “Mole Station” continues to grow.
Returning from the underground platform to the surface is an adventure in itself. Visitors can climb the stairs one step at a time, encouraged by the signs displaying the number of steps remaining.
As the light of the surface gradually comes into view and the warmer air can be felt again, reaching the top brings a genuine sense of accomplishment.
The words “Ganbatte kudasai” (“Keep going!”) written on the walls provide a warm and memorable touch unique to Doai Station.
Beyond the railway tracks lies Niigata Prefecture. As one of the northernmost railway stations in Gunma, Doai also offers a sense of journeying toward the prefectural border.
Its unusual underground structure, approximately 70 meters below the surface, remains a remarkable example of the engineering challenges undertaken by Japan’s railway industry in the 1960s.
Doai Station is much more than an isolated railway station. Its story brings together the history of Japanese railways since the early Showa period, the traditions of mountain tourism, and the station’s modern transformation into a tourist destination.
The experience of descending the 462 steps into the underground world is one that many visitors remember long after their journey.
The nickname “Japan’s Mole Station” reflects the station’s truly unusual character. Combined with the magnificent natural surroundings of Mount Tanigawa, Doai Station offers travelers an experience unlike almost anywhere else in Japan.