大沢鍾乳洞

Osawa Limestone Cave

Useful Information

Location:	〒959-1756 Niigata, Gosen, Kariwa, 乙１１９５. On top of the pass is a small car park along the road. On the opposite site a single lane road starts, signposted, 15 minutes walk/370 m. The road leads to a building where it ends, follow the trial in the same direction. (37.682692, 139.100978)
Open:	no restrictions. [2025]
Fee:	free. [2025]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	L=146 m, VR=17 m.
Guided tours:	self guided, D=30 min.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Osawa Limestone Cave, 〒959-1756 Niigata, Gosen, Kariwa, 乙１１９５. Gosen City Hall Commerce and Tourism Division, Postal Code 959-1692 1094-1, Ota, Gosen City, Niigata Prefecture, Tel: +81-250-43-3911, Fax: +81-250-41-0006. E-mail:
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

1913	cave discovered.
1993	designated a Natural Monument by the city.

Description

大沢鍾乳洞 (Osawa Limestone Cave) is one of the few karst caves in the prefecture and located on the namesake Osawa Pass which connects Tagami and Gosen. The rocks are rather young from the Neogene, (24-1.8 Ma). There is a layer of sandstone and on top a layer of limestone in which the cave was formed. The cave is small and horizontal, a passage rather narrow and high, at one point a second passage branches off, so it forms a Y.

The descent through the doline and into the cave has a long stone staircase with rusty railing, so there are definitely no climbing skills required. After the entrance and a rather low and narrow passage the cave widens and forms a chamber. Further descent on a stone staircase leads to a lower level through huge blocks, and again its quite narrow and low. The passage turns left in a right angle and then an iron staircase follows until finally the floor is reached. This lower passage has a lot of grafitti, mostly names and dates. It seems they are from the early 20th century. Here a long straight passage branches off to the left, it is only 1.5 m wide but 3 or 4 m high. It ascends, so there are more concrete steps. It sometime gets quite narrow and there are two spots where its necessary to crawl.

There is a shrine inside the main passage, which seems to be visited regularly. It has flowers, donated coins, a curious soft toy depicting a bear with pink diving goggles and snorkel. The meaning is not explained though. At the end of both passages there are also sculptures and a sort of shrine, though less elaborate than the main shrine.

The cave has a bat roost, so it is full of bats. The roost is in the main chamber at the ceiling and below is a massive pile of bat guano. The smell is characteristic.

Rather wierd is the great number of ghost stories about the cave. It seems the locals are a little superstitious, and websites about haunted places like to pass on the stories. There is legend about a woman with long hair and a white kimono. Then there is an old woman which tries to sell something. And finally there is the legend that if you remove stones from the cave you will be cursed.

This cave is not gated and officially a public cave, they even advertise it on their website. There is a small car park and many educational signs, only in Japanese though. This is a semi-wild cave, not a show cave, it has trails and stairs, railings and even a shrine. It is maintained and the trail to the cave is mowed regularly. In a way the cave is well developed with all those stairs, but the horizontal parts not always have a trail and are often muddy, so gum boots or trekking shoes are advisable. The narrow sections have the danger of getting dirty, so old clothes are advisable too, probably clothes to change afterwards, so your car will not get dirty on the way home. If you have, bring a helmet with headlamp, and additional lamps. You should avoid to go alone, if you sprain your foot it might take long until someone finds you. If you go alone leave a return time with someone trustworthy.