HOME Back

My Favorites

${v.title}

${v.desc | trunc(25)}

${v.title}

${v.desc | trunc(25)}

View All

Use the

Planning a Trip to Japan?

Share your travel photos with us by hashtagging your images with #visitjapanjp

None

Mizonokuchi Cave

HOME > Japan’s Local Treasures > Mizonokuchi Cave

Feel the healing power of nature at this mysterious spot

Osumi Tourism and Regional Development Corporation

Thousands of years of erosion by spring water created Mizunokuchi Cave in the Kirishima mountains outside Soo City in Kagoshima, southern Kyushu. Chilly clean air and a mysterious atmosphere surround the area with some even saying the cave might be connected to the other side of Earth. In 1964 an expedition team from Kansai University surveyed the site and confirmed its length to be 224 meters. Still a considerable length and it continues to be considered a ‘power spot’, so visit to see if you can feel its healing energy.

For the best photo opportunity, enter the cave and look out to see a bright red Shinto torii gate through the entrance, perfectly framed by the mouth of the cave.

On the Sunday closest to Buddha’s birthday on April 8 every year a festival is held with sword dances or stick dances (the dance style alternates each year) dedicated to the Rock Kannon Goddess of Mercy, which is enshrined at the entrance to the cave. The dances are said to have been started by the Shimazu clan as a celebration of their first victory. Children from Nakatani Elementary School in nearby Takarabe perform the dances that have been passed down through generations as part of their local heritage education.

Whatever time of year you visit, calm your mind and feel the soothing power of nature.