G-Cans (Underground Temple) — Attraction in Kasukabe

I had been meaning to make the trek here since I first learned about this tour via Atlas Obscura. I knew the route would be long and I was correct; from Tokyo to Minami-Sakurai station took me over two hours on four trains!

Once at the station, there is a bus that will take you to the facility, but I decided to walk there by walking the gravel road along the river. I think the people I met along the way were surprised to see me!

The tour itself was quite direct in that the tour guide explained the history, purpose, and workings of the entire overflow system prior to the descent to the "cathedral" itself. The guide is completely in Japanese, but there is a handy brochure and app available in English.

The guided tour continued once the group arrived at the bottom of the cistern. We were given about 20 minutes to wander the area before we were herded back up the stairs.

Things to note: • There are stairs and only stairs. Their height is roughly the equivalent of going down seven floors and then back up again. Know your limits and be prepared to feel some burn. • Only about 20% of the cistern floor is explorable. You will not be allowed to approach any of the intake or outlet cylinders. • There is a bus stop directly in front of both the station and the museum. They run about 2 per hour on two different schedule: M/W/F and Tues/Thur.

Final thoughts: I am an architecture and infrastructure nerd so I really enjoyed learning about this feat of civil engineering. However, it takes a lot of effort to journey out to visit the facility from Tokyo so it might not be...

This enormous subterranean facility situated between Showa,Tokyo and Kasukabe, Saitama is officially known as the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel or G-Cans Project.

More commonly known as the Tokyo Underground Temple for its many appearances on Japanese television and films, the G-Cans Project is actually the world’s largest underground water diverting flood control system.

Though located far from the actual Tokyo Metropolitan Area, this facility is actually responsible for protecting those millions of lives from the dangers of flooding that historically occurred during the heavy downpours that still happen today.

Tours of this super specialized and extremely rare example of modern engineering are very popular and thus extremely difficult to reserve.

You’ll likely have better luck trying to get a spot on one of the days the facility opens up to all on a first-come, first-served basis. Just get there as early as possible to get a spot, and expect long lines and vast crowds—bring snacks and drinks...

Def one of the BEST destinations Japan! Huge castle like structures lies down underneath. Booking required. こいつぁーすげーや！MSデッキみたいじゃ。 前日夜中にHPをチェックしてみると、14:00からの地下神殿のみ千円のコースが１人だけ空きがあった。勢いで予約。

バッグと折り畳み自転車で初輪行を試みたが、膠着したか折り畳み方法を忘れていたかで折り畳めず断念。ﾏｲｶﾞｯ(...