不二洞とな

Fuji-do - Fuji Cave

Useful Information

Location:	665 Kawawa, Ueno-mura, Tano-gun 370-1614 Gunma Prefecture. (36.071817, 138.776169)
Open:	Mid-MAR to OCT daily 9-16:30. NOV daily 9-16. DEC to mid-MAR daily 10-15. [2021]
Fee:	Adults JPY 800, Children (6-14) JPY 500, Disabled JPY 700. Groups: Adults JPY 700, Children (6-14) JPY 400.
Classification:	Karst cave
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System Coloured Light
Dimension:	L=2,200 m, T=10 °C.
Guided tours:	D=40 min.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Fujido Cave, 665 Kawawa, Ueno, Tano District, Gunma 370-1614, Tel: +81-274-59-3117.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1992	new branch of the cave discovered.

Description

不二洞とな (Fujido) is Kanto's biggest limestone cave, located at the slopes of Mt. Ofukuju. It is the largest limestone cave in the Kanto region with a length of 2.2 km. The cave is entered through a long artificial tunnel. After a short visit to the end of the passage the trail follows the main passage in the opposite direction. There are numerous staircases, including a long spiral staircase. It is locally named a "vertical cave", which is actually not the case. This term is not exact and used quite arbitrarily. The cave has some spots with coloured light, but fortunately most of the cave is very well lit. Unfortunately we have no hard facts about the cave, only three legends.

It was discovered 1,200 years ago, when this area was covered by virgin forest. Various wild animals lived there, including monkeys. One day the monkeys gathered and made an extraordinary noise, the villagers became curious and approached the place. They found a small hole in the ground, and named it ら庚申の穴 (The hole of the Yang Metal Monkey) or simply 猿の穴 (Monkey Hole).

Many people explored the cave during the centuries. The most famous one was probably Anso, the founder of Fujiwarayama Kichijoji, 400 years ago. He was a holy man and spread Buddhism in Japan. According to the legend, he was the first who successfully explored the cave and then used it for meditation. As a result, the name of the mountain was changed into 大福寿穴 (Daifukujuana, Dai Fukuju ana) and the new name was spread by monks.

About 200 years ago, an epidemic broke out in the Kawawa village. Etsugan, the sixth chief priest of Kichijoji, wrote the 100-volume sutra of Tendai on many stones and then put them into this cave. Here he prayed, and so he calmed the epidemic down. The name of the cave was changed into Fujido to avoid such disasters in the future.