Ryusendo Cave is one of the three great limestone caves of Japan; the cave and it’s bats are designated as national natural monuments. The portion of the cave which has been explored stretches 3,600 meters, 700 meters of which is open to the public. If unexplored areas are included, the entire cave is estimated to be over 5,000 meters in length. In the cave, fresh spring water forms deep underground lakes. The most impressive is the third lake, with a depth of 98 meters, and the fourth lake (closed to the public), which is the deepest in Japan at 120 meters. These lakes are some of the most transparent in the world. With the deep blue water of the lakes, often referred to as “dragon blue”, and stalacites that are like works of art, Ryusendo Cave is a world of mystery created by nature.
(Ref: Ryusendo Cave pamphlet)
The Ryusendo Science Museum is a limestone cave discovered in 1967, located across from the Ryusendo Cave entrance. In 1968, the Ryusenshindo Site was discovered, from which numerous earthware and stoneware goods were unearthed. Today, 200 meters of the cave is open to the public as the first natural cave science museum in the world, exhibiting valuable artifacts and materials on speleology, geology, biology, and archeology. Along with Ryusendo Cave, it is an academically significant subject of research.
(Ref: Ryusendo Cave pamphlet)
