Do you know Doai Station? Located on the border between Gunma and Niigata prefectures on the Joetsu Line, the station is famous for its long staircase from the ticket gate to the platform. I visited Doai Station, which is relatively close to the station, for sightseeing because the Spartan Race was to be held in Echigo-Yuzawa on the following day! I was planning to go to Yuzawacho by public transportation at that time, but the Joetsu Line to Doai Station is not very frequent, so it was a little difficult to figure out a schedule.
This is the location of Doai station on the Joetsu line. I live in Shikoku, so it is not easy to get to this area.
If you are going from Tokyo, take the Joetsu Shinkansen to the nearest station and then change trains on the Joetsu Line.
– Take the Joetsu Shinkansen from Echigo-Yuzawa Station to Doai Station on the Joetsu Line.
– Take the Joetsu Shinkansen from Jomo Kogen Station to Doai Station by Kanetsu Kotsu Bus.
I think these are the two most common ways to travel.
If we only went sightseeing at Doai Station this time, we would have had quite a bit of time on our hands, as there were few trains stopping at the station, so we decided to take the nearby Tanigawa-dake ropeway to the Tanigawa-dake Observation Deck. I had heard of Mt. Tanigawa, but this was the first time I knew it was here.
Schedule
In the morning, I flew from Matsuyama to Tokyo. Immediately after arriving at Haneda, I moved to Tokyo Station and took the Joetsu Shinkansen. Whatever, I used “Ekinetto” for the first time this time. Convenient!
There are two ways to get to Tanigawadake: take the Shinkansen to Echigo Yuzawa Station, transfer to the Joetsu Line to Doai Station, and then walk about 15 minutes, or take the Shinkansen to Jomo Kogen Station and take a bus to the Tanigawadake ropeway. However, since the next day was the Spartan Race, I decided to take the less tiring bus route. The bus fare was 1,400 yen (1,399 yen with SUICA). It takes about 45 minutes.
Tanigawadake, but it is not mountain climbing. Tanigawadake, there is a place called Tenjin-toge Observatory from which you can see Mt. Tanigawadake, so we will go there. I also like ropeways and lifts, which is good.
This is the main destination, Doai Station. It was the place where I wondered why they built a platform here. 17:57 boarded the Joetsu Line down train. It was a tough but cool and enjoyable place.
Log
Tanigawa-dake
Tanigawadake can be climbed by ropeway, and furthermore, a lift takes you to an altitude of 1,500 meters. The cost is 3,500 yen round trip. First, the ropeway. The ropeway takes you from an elevation of 746 meters to 1319 meters. After getting off the ropeway, there is a plain where you can relax. There are hammocks and so on.
The lift station is located right next to the ropeway alighting point (Tenjin-daira Station), making the trip stress-free. The destination of the lift is Tenjin Touge. It is at an elevation of 1500 meters.
A 10-minute lift ride takes you to Tenjin Pass. Tanigawa, but unfortunately, only the summit of Mt! Unfortunately, only the top of Mt. Tanigawa was covered with clouds, so we could not see the whole view.
Unfortunately, Tenjin CAFE, a cafe on Tenjin Pass, was closed. I wanted to have a cup of coffee or something.
This is Tenjindaira as seen from the lift on the way back. Tenjindaira looks like a ski resort, and it is nice that it is quite a large site.
Doai Station
Doai Station is about 1.6 km from the Tanigawa-dake ropeway stop, about a 25-minute walk, but the Kanetsu Kotsu bus was just coming to the Tanigawa-dake ropeway stop, so I took it to Doai Station. It takes about 4 minutes.
Doai Station has a rather splendid exterior. The building is designed to look like a mountain hut, and the exterior walls seem to be made of quartz diorite from the Shin-Shimizu tunnel excavation.
I like the atmosphere of the sign for Japan’s largest mole station. Is there any meaning in the fact that it is not made of straight wood, but rather distorted in shape?
This is the famous staircase of Doai Station. There are 486 steps from the ticket gate to the platform. The up platform (for Takasaki direction) of Doai Station can be reached immediately from the ticket gate. This tunnel is a passageway to the down platform of Doai Station (Niigata direction). This tunnel section has 462 steps and a distance of 338 meters. The difference in elevation between the station building and the down platform is 70.3m (station building elevation 653.7m, down platform elevation 583m). If you were to get on and off the train here every day, it would be quite a challenge. You might be able to work out, but it would be hard every day….
There is a 1-meter space on the right side of the stairway, which is a space for installing an escalator in the future. However, since the average number of passengers per day is about 20, it will be difficult to install an escalator.
The best mole station commentary in Japan on the down platform. Perhaps I overlooked it, but this sign does not appear to be at the top of the stairs. People who come to Doai Station by train, but not by car or other means, have to go down the stairs to see it.
After descending the stairs, a fairly large space appeared. This is the down platform (for Niigata direction).
The down platform at Doai Station is quite cool and spacious. The coolness is said to be about 15 degrees throughout the year, so it must be cool in summer and warm in winter. The main line (passing line) and the sub-line (platform) were separated before 2008, but the sub-line was eliminated and the main line was unified after remodeling work in 2008. However, the waiting room on the sub-line is still used as a waiting room. The operation office is gone, but its former location is being used to brew craft beer, taking advantage of the constant temperature at all times.
On this day, we planned to board from the down platform and head for Echigo-Nakazato Station, but at this point we had more than an hour to spare. Therefore, I decided to climb up to the ticket gate once, realize how hard it is to climb up, and come back to this down platform again.
After climbing the stairs, I thought that they were quite easy to climb. The height of each staircase is moderate, and every five steps are level, so you can take a break for your legs. However, the scenery doesn’t change at all, so you feel like you are climbing a never-ending staircase. I wish they would play music or something.
However, it is very exciting to climb such a long staircase and to have it almost exclusively to yourself with so few people. It is not easy to visit this place, but why don’t you give it a try? Although we did not visit this time, you can take a one-day hot spring bath at “ Doai Yama no Ie (Doai Mountain House)” located near Doai Station!
Access
Tanigawa-dake
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