Saitama Launches Free Tours of the Iconic Disaster Prevention Underground Temple

You must be familiar with the Disaster Prevention Underground Temple in Kasukabe, Saitama by now. It’s the huge underground tunnel that looks like empty hallways placed side by side. Since construction finished in 2006, it’s been featured in a couple of movies and TV shows. We’ve also seen it in pictures, but we’ve never really seen it in its entirety. Even Japanese locals probably haven’t explored it as much as they’ve wanted to. That’s all going to change now, as Saitama’s offering free tours of the underground temple!

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Exploring the underground temple with shuttle services

Image credit: PR Times Japan

The Disaster Prevention Underground Temple, mainly used to prevent flooding, is actually open to the public for viewing when not in use. But considering its size at 50 metres deep and 6.5 kilometres long, it can get very tiring to explore if you actually have to walk to the location right away. Thankfully, Asahi Motor Corporation is offering a free shuttle service between Kasukabe Station and the underground temple until 31 Jan 2022.

This bus ride takes only 20 minutes and has a daily schedule you can check on the temple’s official website. We hear the bus also makes stops at souvenir shops for tourists. Although international tourists are currently banned in Japan, we’re hoping we still get to enjoy this free shuttle bus when we return. This tunnel, after all, is a fascination of a lot of Japan fans. 

But aside from this, you can also avail of the “Individual Monitor Tour.” This is completely free and includes a guided tour, a ¥1,000 meal ticket, and round-trip transportation from Tokyo. In exchange, the Japan Tourism Agency would also like guests to post their photos and videos on social media to help in the promotion of tourism and the Disaster Prevention Underground Temple. To see the set schedules for the free temple tours until January 2022, click here. 

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This free tour to and around the Disaster Prevention Underground Temple may not be accessible to us now, but we have high hopes it’s something new we can experience when everything goes back to normal after the pandemic. Who would say no to a free tour in Japan, anyway?

Featured image credit: AMANO Jun-ichi | Wikimedia Commons