, located in Iwaizumi, Iwate Prefecture, in the

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, , or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains ...

of northern

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, is the longest limestone cavern in Japan, with a measured length of .
Journey to the Center of the Earth The cave system was designated as a

natural monument A natural monument is a natural or cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities, or cultural significance. They can be natural geological and geographical features such as w ...

by the Japanese government in 1980. Since 1991, a portion of the caverns have been open to the public for part of the year.

Outline

There are

flowstone Flowstones are sheetlike deposits of calcite or other carbonate minerals, formed where water flows down the walls or along the floors of a cave. They are typically found in "solution caves", in limestone, where they are the most common speleothe ...

s and a subterranean lake.

Access

*Iwaizumi Town Bus **From/to Iwaizumibashi

References

External links

A Trip to Iwate

Caves of Japan Landforms of Iwate Prefecture Tourist attractions in Iwate Prefecture Show caves in Japan Iwaizumi, Iwate {{iwate-geo-stub