菖蒲洞

Shōbudō - Shobu Cave

Useful Information

Location:	1489 Tosayamashobu, Kochi, 781-3214. Highway 33 through Tosayamashobu, park at the community center, cross Kagami River on bridge, follow trail on the left uphill along tributary. (33.635610, 133.564610)
Open:	no restrictions. [2022]
Fee:	free. [2022]
Classification:	Karst cave River Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Shobu Cave, 1489 Tosayamashobu, Kochi, 781-3214, Tel: +81-88-895-2965.
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

Description

菖蒲洞 (Shōbudō, Shobu Cave) is a small river cave, the emerging brook is a tributary of the Kagami River. It is gated with a wooden gate, which looks actually quite rickety, and has a trail inside, along the cave river. If you are in the area, the short walk to the cave and the resourgence are worth a visit even if you are not able to see the cave.

There are different comments online about the cave, some say it is open and free to visit, others say it is necessary to get the prefecture's permission to enter it. Actually there is a lock at the gate, we get you can get permission and the key at the listed phone number (see above) but probably only if you speak Japanese. We guess it's either the local tourist bureau or the municipal government so we suggest calling at normal office hours.