Tonzurumine Underground Shelter

In 1944, in about two months, three hundred workers dug two kilometres that were never finished.

Starting in 1944, three hundred workers in shifts dug non-stop for about two months, creating two kilometres of grid-pattern tunnels for a combat command of the Japanese Air General Army. The work was never completed or used before the surrender of September 1945: eighty years later, the digging marks are still visible in the rock.

The shelter is in the Anagushi area, in the municipality of Kashiba. It was dug as an air defence command in the last months of the Pacific War and never came into operation. Today guided tours are organised by the NPO Tonzurumine Chika-gō wo Kangaeru Kai, whose name means ‘association for reflecting on the Tonzurumine underground shelter’.

ℹ️ The guided tour is organised by the NPO Tonzurumine Chika-gō wo Kangaeru Kai. Without a guide, you reach the shelter along about 30 minutes of unimproved mountain path from the Tonzurumine viewpoint. There is no lighting inside, you need a torch and it is easy to lose your bearings: going in alone is not recommended. Check the dates and cost of the guided tours with the organisation.

🚉 二上山駅 · 60 min walk

Sources: nara-np.co.jp · kspkk.co.jp

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