Yokota travel series: Japan’s ice and wind cave

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Michael Washburn
  • 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --  Head in the opposite direction of Tokyo, toward the base of Mt. Fuji, and one can experience a stark contrast in the environment. The roads turn into flora and the dense congestion of people is replaced with fauna. The wilderness takes over. It's within this wilderness that sightseers can find Japan's Narusawa Hyouketsu Ice Cave and Fugaku Fuketsu Wind Cave.

More than 1,150 years ago, around 864 a.d., Mt. Fuji erupted and the lava that seeped down from the volcano formed the caves.

The main entrance to the ice cave is quite large and accommodating to the large number of tourists and sightseers. The large entrance narrows down significantly and a bamboo handrail marks the start of the cave. The floor of the cave forms uneven steps leading down to the ice. The tube-like cave twists and turns as it slowly gets tighter. At points it's so narrow that standing upright is impossible. It's the perfect height for a six-year-old. Another handrail and more steps lead down to the depths. A tunnel flanked by ice walls leads the way to a spacious room where the majority of the ice is located. During the month of April, water droplets from the ceiling form huge icicles that reach sizes of nearly 10-feet high. A final set of stairs leads back to the exit.

The temperature drops at an alarming rate when descending into the caves. Even after hiking down 15 feet from the entrance, the temperature had dropped 10 to 15 degrees.

On average, the ice cave stays a brisk temperature of 37 degrees Fahrenheit, even during the hot summer months. It's nature's refrigerator and that cold air makes a nice respite from the hot summer sun.

The wind cave also shares the same temperature as the ice cave and up until the beginning of the Showa era, it was used as a refrigerator to store silkworm eggs. The cold air keeps the silkworms from changing into moths, which in turn extends the time the silkworm can produce silk. It still has some of the storage units on display that were used to hold the silkworms. This cave is more wide open than the ice cave and the ceiling doesn't force you to hunch over until near the end with the displays. Unlike other caves, the wind cave produces no audible echo. The basaltic rock (cooled lava) walls act as a dampener and absorb the sound.

Both of the caves are close together and can be accessed within a few minutes' drive. Neither one take too much time to tour and can be walked in 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how many photos are taken or sights seen. Signs for the caves are easily visible and there's parking areas at each location for cars. The ice cave even has a souvenir shop for mementos.

It is advisable to skip the caves if you're claustrophobic; the ice cave in particular has a few tight squeezes and low ceilings. The wind cave is more open with only one or two spots where the ceiling is low. It's a good idea to take some shoes with good soles as the cave can get wet and slippery. 

The trip to the caves takes about 80 minutes from Yokota and can be found be using this address:

8533 (Sonota), Narusawa-mura, Minamitsuru-gun, Yamanashi-ken 401-0320, Japan