[proggy]

Creepy is subjective of course, but it’s pretty high on the list for the most isolated and/or inconveniently-located platform in the country. The only access is via a narrow footbridge leading to a 486-step staircase that goes 70m underground (230ft). Unlike most other 50+ meter deep train stations, there are no elevators and no escalators. The only way in or out of the station is via those stairs, which makes platform-to-street time a non-trivial part of the overall journey.

[rayiner]

Why was it built like this?

[bdonlan]

It was originally a switching/signalling waypoint, and later started seasonal passenger service for skiiers in 1932, before later switching to year-round service. Apparently it used to be a popular hiking destination as well, but with the establishment of more convenient rail and road routes became less popular in the 80s.

[toss1]

Convenient — your hike (or climbing with skiis) starts immediately at the train platform!

[koakuma-chan]

I would rather take stairs instead a really long escalator, it's scary af (when going down).

[rkuykendall-com]

This would have been a great opportunity for an Akira Elevator:

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/why-the-mysterious-love-aff...

[sixothree]

You might enjoy this (now 2 part series) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2oELc61XHE

[gruez]

Really? I've gone down long escalators before and it doesn't feel scary, and I'm scared of heights.

[koakuma-chan]

I took this[0] in Kyiv, it was really uncomfortable. Apparently it's "Deepest Metro station in the world, and a long escalator ride" [1]

[0]: https://dynamic-media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-o/15/9...

[1]: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g294474-d80742...

[plasma_beam]

I'm going to guess the person suffers from vertigo, as have I to a small degree - particularly on the metro escalator in Rosslyn, VA (across the river from DC). The sensation occurs going down or up very tall escalators in a tunnel. When it hits, you feel like you are traveling horizontally with some weird tunnel vision. This is terrifying and can cause you to feel like you're falling - even when you know you are going down or up, your eyes are telling you you're traveling horizontally.

I've also gotten this driving a car through long tunnels as well, going down or up (Baltimore 895 harbor tunnel can do this).

[nocoiner]

I’m pretty scared of heights and generally haven’t been triggered by any long escalators into subways, but there’s one on the DC Metro (Adams Morgan maybe?) that kind of freaked me out.

[_ea1k]

I'd guess that a long narrow escalator could make someone feel "trapped", in a way that regular stairs generally wouldn't.

[stronglikedan]

Yes, really. Avoided if at all avoidable-really. Regular length is terrifying and more than that is no-go territory.

[m463]

> 486-step staircase

> service for skiiers

Can't help but think of trudging up the gondola stairs at heavenly in ski boots at the end of the day.

this is why snowboarding will win in the end.

[zoeysmithe]

Yep its not creepy its just a train station. I live in a big city and not-well-lit stations are common and its just a boring fact of life no one even notices here. But to an outsider trying to exoticize things, suddenly its "creepy" or "weird." I mean "the descent is terrifying?" It just stairs. We have this in DC, NYC, and Chicago. To a Chicagoan like me, these 'terrifying tunnels' are just our train station and where we go everyday. There's a real anti-urbanism and anti-public trans aspect here that is concerning.

The notes aren't "Silent Hill" like but a cute way human social need expresses itself. Its community. Its not weird or scary at all, in fact its the opposite.

The alternative to 'terrifying' stairs and trains are the actual terror of driving which has a much higher injury and morality rate than riding a train.

No one wants to have this conversation but if you wonder how egyptomania happened, well, its happening here with people fetishizing Japan and its people.

I wish orientalism was taken more seriously. Japan has sort of become this fictional and stereotypical thing and it percolates down with stuff like this. Its just a train station. Its someone's boring work commute. Its not GITS or a catgirl hideout or cyberpunk in real life whatever. Its a place that doesnt have the social, political, and capitalist capital to get much needed renovations, same with the many 'creepy' stations on Chicago's west and south sides, which the North side ones (wealthy, white dominated) have had renovations, new paint, new lighting, etc. Its just the everyday corruption of how many societies work.

Go ahead an put "DOAI EKI" into google images. It looks quite normal. The "tokyo cowboy" website inserted that dark green filter. Its just a boring, if not ugly, tunnel with a but of colorful moss to break up the monotony:

https://wikimapia.org/16698934/Doai-Station-%E5%9C%9F%E5%90%...

If anything, the external facade is quite striking with its big triangle face. I mean, this is just a train tunnel, albeit a deep one. Not the Chernobyl exclusion zone and entirely safe and honestly, if you're anything like me, you'll enjoy the quiet and seclusion of a train tunnel.

I've been to Japan and when people find this out and start ranting to me about how they'd love to go for stereotype-heavy reasons, its very hard for me to tell them it isn't actually a cybperpunk or anime heaven, but its just a normal developed economy and it and its people are not very different from them, many of whom without a strong interest in the otaku culture they think defines this entire society. Nor is it easy to talk about its many serious political issues, as Japan has many faults orientalism doesn't present.

Japan is full of the same working class people as you, with the same worries and joys as you. Maybe they ride the train more than you but their tunnels and stairs aren't "terrifying," they're instead the cherished memories of their hometowns. Maybe the L in Chicago is ugly to you, but its my, sometimes difficult, but beloved train system I ride every day. The L is the source of many of my warm childhood and young adult memories the same way stations like this are to the Japanese there too. I dont know if its accurate to portray these systems as weird exotic and dangerous things. Its just everyday rail. Its our daily lives.

So much of this orientalism is dishonesty to get engagement, fame, ad impressions, etc. I'd love a good hearted and honest appreciation and criticism of Japan's rail lines over sensationalist writing like this. The Atlas Obscura style of writing and profit-making is practically ruining the internet and making people divorced from the actual reality of these places and its people. You get the McTourist version of things that don't reflect the reality and people there much, or if at all.

I think the older crowd remembers what it was like before wikipedia got big, near everything was sensationalist and 'blogger' and 'personal diary' like this. You couldn't just bring up the data and facts about stations like this or an article written with journalist ethics, instead you'd be pummeled with "Atlas Obscura" style narratives like this made to be sensational and often inaccurate and engaging in stereotypes. The people who wrote this article are motivated by money, not information sharing, hence the style. I dislike we're moving back towards "Anime fans facts on Japan webring" type writing. I really hope people stop and think about this stuff and stop promoting this kind of stuff, especially now when you can just tell an AI to write Obscura-style sensationalism trivially and use many SEO tools to promote this writing for profit.

I come to HN to get away from stuff like this and its just disheartening to me to see these types of articles becoming popular here. This isn't the first one and I'm afraid this is becoming a trend.

[Trasmatta]

I really don't think it's that deep. There's nothing about this article that screams "orientalism". It's just an article about a weird train station. You can probably find similar article's about some of the weird subway stations in NYC.

[jfoster]

I caught a train through this station last year without knowing about it. It was very noticeably different from any other station I've caught a train through in Japan.

I generally agree with you that a lot of ridiculous fake information about Japan gets posted online, though. (especially in spammy Facebook groups and AI-assisted Instagram reels)

[zoeysmithe]

That's fine, but were you terrified? Scared and having a panic attack and clutching your purse? Were you worried you ended up in "Silent Hill" like the author of this sensationalized piece?

I'm guessing like any unbiased person you just noticed this is a deep tunnel and that's interesting on its own and can be written about and expressed non-sensationally and without Matrix-like filters on photos.

Imagine instead of exoticizing and orientalizing this, we had an article about its unique architecture style, who the architects were, why it is so deep, quotes from the people there, a comprehensive history, information about the surrounding town and region, etc. Its bothersome to me that we're regerssing back to the world of grifters and sensationalists. I feel like the popularity of Atlas Obscura-style stuff is a sad reflection of the times we're in. We collectively decided facts, respect, diversity, respecting other cultures, challenge, and merit are put on the backburner for sensationalism, ego pleasing, rent-seeking, mindlessness, intellectual dishonesty, and engaging in popular stereotypes.

[jfoster]

That's true. It wasn't scary, of course. Just a very interesting station because I noticed that it must be more or less in a mountain. The train had been traveling through a tunnel for quite a while before stopping there, so I hadn't been expecting the stop.

[gedy]

I wouldn’t read so much into it, I think it’s just a bit exaggerated for the clickbait. It's a few gloomy pics.

[deadbabe]

In a world where everyone already knows and has seen everything, people will seek to make mundane things more mysterious and exotic. Just the way it is.

[nullbyte808]

I nominate you for a Woke Grammy. Congrats!