May 21, 2000
The members of Nature Investigation Club, together with the 2nd
year students searching in "Formative beauty of water "in the class
of "integrated learning", went to Hihara Stalactite Cave at Higashi-
Hihara, Okutama-machi, Tokyo. It is located in the mountains far from
the school, where to reach it took 2 hours by train and then 40
minutes by bus and furthermore 30 minutes by walk. |
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| *Wow! How far! How long does it still take more? "We have to walk
15 minutes more." At last, rain stopped. |
*Here we are at the entrance of Hihara Stalactite Cave. A river runs
just close. Cool air comes out from the inside of cave. |
*Now, we are in the cave. The temperature is 11 degree C. It is cool. |
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*Here, a little water flows down. The walls are blackish. It is said
that
since the beginning of Edo era, as the spot for ascetic practices of
the
belief in the mountains, some ascetics came to this cave for
practices.
Such blackish walls seem sooted with their torchlights. |
*Is this a trace of water flow in the old days?
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*Here is an information board of Hihara Stalactite Cave. It says the
cave's total length is about 800m.
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