DOAI EKI: Japan’s creepiest station

Doai Eki, situated right by the border between Gunma and Niigata prefectures, is one of the most unique stations you’ll come across in all of Japan. Serving the Joetsu Line, the station seems relatively normal to any passengers travelling southbound in the direction of Tokyo. As with most stations in rural Japan, it appears to be a non descript building with no attendants, no ticket gate and a few vending machines to get you through the 45 minute wait between trains.

However, if travelling northbound in the direction of Niigata, the station takes on a vastly different character. The northbound platform is a 15 minute walk away from the main station building. A majority of this walk consists of a 70m descent down almost 500 steps into the Shin-Shimizu tunnel. The descent is terrifying, with little vision of what awaits you at the end as you venture further and further into the depths. Water from the nearby rivers can also be heard trickling into the tunnel at a faster and faster rate as you near the bottom.

Finally arriving at the northbound platform, you’ll find yourself in a sinister cavern deep within a neighboring mountain. As such, Doai has aptly been named “Japan’s no 1 station for moles.” The tunnel is dark and dank and it’s noticeably harder to breathe while you wait for your train. The only semblance of life is a small waiting room that’s littered with photos and scrap paper/pens for visitors to leave notes. While I imagine this is meant as a fun way to pass the time, the anonymous notes and random photos on the wall add an eerie, Silent Hill-esque touch to the cavernous space.

Adding to the overall spookiness of the station is the fact that it’s deep within a mountain that neighbors Mount Tanigawa - known as Death Mountain due to its treacherous climb. Over 800 people have died trying to reach the top of Tanigawa with one climbing group in 1943 going missing for 30 years before their corpses were eventually discovered.