Doai Station

Doai is two stations in one. The up-line platform, for trains toward Minakami, is an ordinary platform beside the station building. The down-line platform, for trains toward Echigo-Yuzawa, was built inside the Shin-Shimizu Tunnel when that 13,490-meter tunnel opened in 1967, and it sits about 70 meters lower than the building. That is why it is nicknamed Japan's top mole station. Step off a down train and you face a straight, lit stairway of 462 steps running 338 meters up the slope. At the top, a 143-meter passage with 24 more steps crosses the river and Route 291 to the ticket gate. Allow about 10 minutes, more if you stop to look back down, which almost everyone does. The station has had no staff since 1985. The old station office now holds Kissa Mogura, a small café run by DOAI VILLAGE, the camp and glamping site behind the station, and its opening days vary, so check their Instagram before counting on a coffee. The base station of Tanigawadake Yoho (the former Tanigawadake Ropeway) is about 1.5 km uphill, so Doai pairs easily with a trip up Mount Tanigawa.