Nippara limestone caves — Attraction in Tokyo

After hanging out in "everybody is a busy-body" central Tokyo, it was a literal breath of fresh air to get into the countryside and view natural beauty. The caves are spectacular and cheap for admission (something like 700 yen). I felt genuinely nervous upon first entering, because it was very dark, quiet and eery, much like a horror movie. There are few visitors and you'll have most of the place to yourselves, for good or for bad. The cave has diverse formations which takes you up and down some pretty steep and narrow spots. You'll also at one point enter the main cavern, which is lit up with colorful spotlights and is stunningly surreal. The signs in Japanese divulge interesting tidbits of information about monks who would stay in the cave - there are a small number of small stone monuments dedicated to either monks or deities, which adds to the atmospheric feeling of the strange but wonderful. I found a kick out of how they named some of the passes "path to hell", "death mountain". It's all in Japanese and I hope it's just a joke.

When you arrive at the nearest train station, you still have to take a bus ride. So train ride plus bus ride is a solid 3 hours travel time from Shinjuku station. I still felt it was worth the travel time. I had a lovely time sitting around old but cute train stations and viewing the Japanese mountain scenery. The bus ride from the station to the cave was interesting, as the road is a mountain road, narrow and at times fit only a single vehicle. To see how the bus, driver (plus conductor) navigated these stretches of road was amusing. The drivers, tour people at the station and everyone who I encountered were tremendously helpful, very kind, and not daunted by the fact that my Japanese was crude and simple. Your usual super pleasant countryside manners.

My tips: Bring a light jacket, the cave is cool. You'll sweat at some of the steeper climbs, but you'll cool right down as soon as you rest. Visit the visitor's information house and request a discount 100 yen for entrance to the cave. Arrive early, so when you return home via the train station, small shops are still open for grub. Bring snacks (the bus ride is half hour long each way, you might spend an hour in the cave) as there is no food near the cave, which is in the middle of nowhere. But be respectful and don't eat in the cave. Don't visit if you are not fit. Wear sturdy shoes. Don't worry about most other attire, as there is no underwater section and you won't get wet. Check their seasonal opening dates. They have black-out dates when it's too dangerous, weather-wise to...

This was a fun and unique experience on my trip to Japan.

The drive here was scenic and exciting- full of winding, narrow mountain roads and amazing views.

The entire cave system is lit, but I recommend bringing your own headlamp so that you can peek around unlit crevices. My friend once found an old 1960s Fanta can. He brought it home but later thought that it had bad energy as he was having nightmares and night sickness which ended as soon as he got rid of the can.

I believe him because this place is quite eerie. There is a shrine in the back full of small piles of stones that were assembled by grieving parents and which allegedly hold the souls of their lost babies and fetuses. The legend says that these souls are here as punishment for the pain that they caused their parents.

There is also a deep section of the cave called "Hell's crevice," and there was a miniature shrine building labeled "the black gate" down in that section.

If you don't know any of this, then you can just stroll through the caves with the only impediment being the many stairs and the bats - some of the bats are lurking in tight spaces where they could be close to your head. But if you do know all of this information, then there's an extra layer of eeriness about the caves and you find yourself imagining what you would do if the power went out. Thankfully I had the headlamp lol.

Price was very affordable, you will probably spend more on gas getting here if you drive than you do on the admission.

The cave only took 1 hour to explore, so we also visited some local hiking trails, the local gorge and canyon, and a...

The cave itself is great - there are a number of different routes to explore and one very large internal chamber with interesting lighting - and quite cold, which was very welcome during a sweltering August day. The 900 yen price surprised us, but I would say it was worth it. There's not much information about the cave, and nothing in English, and the placards and set-up of the cave have an old-school feel, especially compared to more intentionally touristy caves like those near Mt. Fuji.

Getting to this cave is also an adventure. We visited in a rental car during the week of Obon, which I do not recommend - we spent probably 30 minutes to an hour waiting in a huge line of cars for access to the parking area, unable to turn around or leave and unsure of what awaited us at the end. We saw lots of folks walking from great distances away, which seemed a bit risky given the narrowness of the roads. I would suggest going early or during a non-peak season! That said, once you've gotten parking, even on a busy day there's no wait to get...