It is a unforgettable experience to enter a a few hundreds years old cave of Buddhist spiritual training. The cave was keeping in original condition as much as possible. Visitors will get a candle and walk along the cave, trying our best to preserve that light.
Visitor can also consider to reserve guide tour in advanced, but I'm not sure if they can offer English tour guide. Japanese website said they even has AR in guide tour.
Remember to check the return bus time when arriving, because bus arrive at this station every 30mins.
One of the most unique and underrated experiences in Kanagawa-ken, the Tata Caves are just a short bus ride from Ōfuna station. The caves are cared for by a group of local history actives and the temple staff. This heritage site is much bigger than I expected. I was in the caves for over 35+ minutes. It is cold and damp inside and somehow scary as it was when I was there alone, however, this is one of the most unique experiences in Japan for anyone interested in culture, history or spirituality. I cannot understand how some of these carvings were crested in the 13th century in the extremely dark conditions within the caves. It is a feat of human faith and ingenuity and something everyone visiting Kanagawa should experience at least one.
This is the most fascinating place I've seen in Japan. It is a couple of kilometers of caves ( not all open) dug out by Shingon monks in the clay hillside for meditation. The religious artwork on the wall is beautiful! It isn't very well-known so I've never seen it crowded. When I've visited on the weekdays I was usually the only person there. The staff at the temple are friendly, too. This really is an amazing place to see!
A place where you can leave this world behind. To contemplate how the students lived without electricity or any modern day commodities in the cave. How they focused on the physical labour, enlightenment and art left for generations to come.
It truly left me with a feeling of awe, a feeling of what humans are capable of.
This was a fun family side quest. We took a taxi from Ofuna station. The shrine was under construction and we did not enter. The cost was ¥1000 for adults, less for children. They provided candles, but the caves have lights on motion sensors so the candles are just for fun. We walked through in about 30 minutes but if you want to really examine the carvings you could take an hour. No photos allowed inside. We were the only people there.
