日原鍾乳洞

Nippara shonyudo - Nippara Limestone Cave - Hihara Limestone Cave

Useful Information

Location:	Nippara, Okutama-machi, Nishitama-gun, Tokyo. Bus from Okutama Station on the JR Ome Line. Weekday: 5-minute walk from Nippara Shonyudo bus stop. Weekend and holiday: 20-minute walk from Higashi Nippara bus stop. (35.8526254003968, 139.04076832644017)
Open:	04-JAN to MAR daily 9-16:30. APR to NOV daily 9-17. 01-DEC to 29-DEC daily 9-16:30. [2024]
Fee:	Adults JPY 900, Children (15-17) JPY 900, Children (12-14) JPY 700, Children (6-11) JPY 600. Groups (25+): Adults JPY 800, Children (15-17) JPY 800, Children (12-14) JPY 600, Children (6-11) JPY 500. Audioguide JPY 480. [2024]
Classification:	Karst Cave river cave.
Light:	Incandescent Coloured Light
Dimension:	L=1,270 m, T=11 °C.
Guided tours:	self guided, L=800 m, D=40 min. Audioguide
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Nippara shonyudo, 1052 Nippara, Okutama-cho, Nishitama-gun, Tokyo, Tel: +81-428-83-8491. Nippara Landscape Preservation Association (Nippara Hoshokai), Tel: +81-428-83-2099, Fax: +81-428-83-8352. 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

AUG-1996

水琴窟 (Suikinkutsu) installed, which is played by dripping water.

Description

日原鍾乳洞 (Nippara shonyudo, Nippara Limestone Cave) is a sacred site since the early Edo period. The cave is one of the biggest in the Kanto region and famous for its beauty. The cave entrance is the resurgence of a cave river, the entrance for the visitors is located right above in a fossil level of the cave. The most impressive part of the cave is the main chamber which is really spacious. Unfortunately it is equipped with coloured LED light. The newest addition is an audioguide, unfortunately only in Japanese. You have to install the Pokke app and pay an additional fee.

Nippara Cave is also written Hihara, Hibara, or Nichihara Cave, obviously there are completely different transliterations. We are at a loss how this name is actually pronounced.

The cave is located in the Ogawa Valley, Ogawa River is a tributary of the Nippara River. They have numerous stalactites and stalagmites with nonsensical names, and the most important sight is the stalagmite, which looks like a white-robed Kannon statue. Or probably it’s the frog-like one. At least one interesting fact is given: their stalactites were measured to grow 1.5 cm per century, which is twice as much as in other comparable caves. Their stalagmites grow only 0.75 cm per century.

In 1996, they installed a 水琴窟 (Suikinkutsu), which is actually a sort of bronze gong, which makes different sound depending on where it is hit by dripping water. So the speed, height, and volume of the sounds depends on the dripping water. Suikinkutsu was introduced to Japanese gardens by early gardeners in the Edo period. The つくばい/蹲踞 (Tsukubai) was invented by Enshu Kobori, a tea master and also known as a landscape gardener, at the age of 18. It is a washbasin provided at the entrance to a holy place for visitors to purify themselves by the ritual washing of hands and rinsing of the mouth. For this it is necessary "to crouch" or "to bow down", an act of humility, the verb tsukubau is the origin of the name. The Suikinkutsu was developed from those washbasins, by simply adding a sort of metal pot, which is buried upside down near the wash basin. So water spilling from washing flows through the gravel and an opening in the pot and drops into the pool of water inside the pot. This creates the reverberating sounds. Modern Suikinkutsu may be installed without Tsukubai, but here at the cave they chose the traditional setup, with a stone basin.

The cave was named after nearby village Nippara. To reach the cave, follow road 204 to Nippara and then continue on the main road, it ends after 1.6 km at the parking lot of the cave. A few years ago the road had been closed, and so the parking lot was not accessible, but fortunately it was reopened in 2018. Nevertheless, the parking lot is often full on weekends during the season, and people have to wait hours for a free space, which causes traffic jams. We suggest avoiding those times or using other means of transport, or visiting very early in the morning. There is a second parking lot 2 km before the cave, but there is no bus shuttle, and you have to hike the two km.