仲原鍾乳洞

Nakabari Shonyudo - Nakabari Limestone Cave - Nakahara Limestone Cave

Useful Information

Location:	Aza Tomori 1114, 906-0000 Gusukube, Miyakojima, Okinawa 〒友利-1114. (24.733042, 125.377842)
Open:	All year daily 10-17. Visits only with reservation. [2022]
Fee:	Adults JPY 500, Children (6-12) JPY 300. [2022]
Classification:	Karst cave
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	L=265 m, T=20 °C.
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:	Omer Aydan, Naohiko Tokashiki (2007): Some Damage Observations in Ryukyu Limestone Caves of Ishigaki and Miyako Islands and Their Possible Relations to the 1771 Meiwa Earthquake, Journal of The School of Marine Science and Technology, Tokai University, Vol.5, No.1, pp. 23-39, 2007. pdf
Address:	Nakabari Limestone Cave, Aza Tomori 1114, 906-0000 Gusukube, Miyakojima, Okinawa 〒友利-1114, Tel: +81-980-77-7300, Tel: +81-90-8291-3946.
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

1975	cave closed to the public.
2005	opened to public.

Description

仲原鍾乳洞 (Nakabari Limestone Cave, Nakahara Limestone Cave) is a small karst cave which is developed with wooden trails. It is the only cave on Miyako Island which is open for the public. The entrance is located in the middle of a very quiet field in Nakabari area, Gusukube. The cave is operated by its owner, Mr. Katsuhiko Uezato.

There is a huge doline in the middle of the field, and it was known for a long time that there is a cave entrance at the bottom. It was developed as a show cave at some point but was closed to the public in the 1970s. Thirty years later the new owner of the land reopened it. But the cave does no advertising, so it is mostly visited by locals.

The owner has some income from aging Awamori, a local liquor, inside the cave. You can age your own bottles for a fee of JPY 2,500 per year and bottle. While caves are used to age cheese, whisky and many other things, we were not astonished. On the other hand as far as we know liquors do not age any more when they are bottled, aging only works in wooden casks. But probably it's different with Awamori.

The doline has vertical walls and even one section which is overhanging and forms a natural shelter. This place is used for various events. It has been the location of a lecture by Pointillism painter Mr. Seita Oshiro and a wine lecture by Mr. Sunagawa, the Representative Sommelier of Okinawa prefecture. It is also used for weddings.

From the floor of the doline a horizontal passage starts, which is 265 m long and up to 26 m wide and 12 m high. Only the first half of the NW-SE striking passage is developed. The cave has numerous speleothems, the longest stalactite is impressive 470 cm long and has a circumference 363 cm. A high number of broken stalactites is thought to be a result of the 1771 Meiwa earthquake. A rather stange detail is the temperature in the cave. In the entrance section it is between 18 and 21 °C, but at the end of the tour it is about 30 °C. There is a thermal anomaly caused by volcanism. In other words there is a hot spring at the end of the cave.