Ryusendo Cave, 2005

It’s damp. Some of the cave passages have overhanging rocks. And watch out for those pesky bats that inhabit the cool environment deep below the surface.

Ryusendo lies at the Mount Ureira’s eastern foot in Iwaizumi, 93 miles south of Misawa Air Base. By car, figure almost three hours of driving time each way if you adhere to posted speed limits. One of Japan’s top three stalactite caves, it was deemed a special natural monument in 1938 by the Japanese government.

		Geologists and spelunkers still probe the cave’s unexplored reaches, which have been estimated to extend more than 16,500 feet. But visitors can walk a good portion of the 8,250 feet explored to date. Public access to 2,300 feet of the cave offers glimpses of beautiful clear-water pools and bizarre limestone formations. Accidents and thoughtless visitors have damaged some of the formations throughout the years, but there’s still plenty at which to thrill.
At the Ryusendo Hills
		Caves echo to the sound of water as springs flowing from one of three emerald-green pools flow through twisting passages exiting at the cave’s entrance. “Ryusendo is presumed to have been discovered before recorded history, however, there were no documents or stories handed down that were believable,” he said.
Inside the Rysendo Cave
		Who actually discovered the gaping space beneath the earth is unknown. Mikami said local volunteers formed an expedition group called “Aisenkai” and explored by boats to conduct blasting operations in the cave long ago. Ryusendo houses the deepest cave pool in Japan, measured at 396 feet, but that pool is not open to the public. However, you can gaze into the emerald-green waters of another pool pegged at a depth of 323 feet. Ryusendo boasts some of the clearest waters in the world. A clarity test showed water transparency at 137 feet.
Freezing Water - deep inside the cave
		Ryusendo is one of the biggest three limestone caves in Japan and is the government-designated natural treasure. The depth is over 2,500m and it's said that the entire cave is almost 5,000m. Spring water forms some lakes deep under the ground. The third lake is at the depth of 98m, the degree of transparent is 41.5m. The forth lake (not yet open to the public) is at the depth of 120m, which is the deepest in Japan. Ryusendo is pound to be one of the top caves in the world with its degree of transparent.
Inside the Cave - the temp was 17 degrees
A challenge - passing through a cave cut		Clear Blue Water 323 feet deep inside the Cave
The inside of the Cave		Water Flowing
At the entry of the Cave		Clear water inside the cave
Just outside the Cave

 

 

About Iwate Iwate was historically part of Mutsu Province. It was only brought into the empire around 800. In the Jomon period it was an area abundant in fishing and hunting. There was also Emishi settlements in the Kitakami Basin. The Emishi, which translates as either toad or shrimp barbarians, were regarded by contemporary chroniclers as a race apart living in an independent state with a different language - possibly a variant of Old Japanese. They were known for their tempers and their valor in battle. Whether they were a truly autonomous state and how precisely it was organized is not known, but it is probable that there was some sort of tribal or clan confederacy united by a monarchy.