Sumita’s Rōkandō Cave

　Nestled up in the north-east corner of the town of Sumita, located next to the area’s highest mountain, Mt. Goyō is the limestone cave, Rōkandō. The main part of the cave is just over 800 meters in length, and has a spectacular view at the end, the 29-meter high ‘Ama no Iwato’ waterfall, the tallest subterranean waterfall in Japan. The Kesen & Beyond blog has talked about Rōkandō before a fair number of years ago, but felt it was time for an update, since the tourist attraction overwent a major renovation of its facilities last year.

　The first thing one notices when arriving at the entrance to the cave is the newly- designed, beautifully-crafted visitors’ center and restaurant. This is where you purchase your tickets to enter Rōkandō. And unlike in the past, there are now three levels of exploration offered to experience the cave. The first, and most popular, level 1 allows a visitor to walk the entire length of the well-lit cave, ending at the large, open cavern to enjoy the cascading waterfall, before returning again to the entrance. For those who crave more adventure, levels 2 provides access to a special route, lead by professional guides that is not generally open to the public. Level 3 includes access to recently-discovered parts of the cave and includes the use of ropes and harnesses. All admission tickets include use of a caving helmet for safety, and the level 3 course provides boots and a caving jumpsuit. Due to the need to arrange for the professional caving guides, levels 2 and 3 require reservations in advance.

The entrance to Rōkandō cave

 The newly-finished Visitors’ Center

 ‘Ama no Iwato’ waterfall

　Once your caving adventure is concluded, it’s worth a trip back to the visitors’ center where are locally crafted food and other souvenir items for sale. On the second floor houses the new restaurant which offers a variety of interesting dishes, including a Sumita specialty, the grilled chicken ‘harami’ set meal, shrimp tempura soba or udon, and two, unique Rōkandō dishes. The first, ‘waterfall’ curry & rice, where you pour your hot curry down a carefully-crafted mountain of rice. The second dish, ‘cascading waterfall’ cold soba allows you to sit outside and have your freshly-prepared soba is delivered to your seat from the kitchen located above the hill by way of a long, flowing pipe, mimicking the Ama no Iwato waterfall inside the cave. It's a fun and delicious way to enjoy cold soba noodles with its delicious dipping sauce.

The ticket booth to buy your meal

 The soba restaurant above where noodles are prepared

The counter where customers wait for their orders

　Rōkandō is open year-round, as the cave has a constant temperature of 10°C. Access is available by car along the free, Kamaishi Expressway from Hanamaki City at the Towa interchange heading to Kamaishi City on the coast. Take the Rokando IC exit. For those heading by train, access is available along the JR East Kamaishi line. Get off at Kamiarisu Station and walk down the hill two minutes to the visitors’ center. Be aware that this local train only runs every two hours or so, and less on weekends and holidays, so be sure to check the train schedule and plan accordingly.

Tickets

Regular Course (Level 1)  　 Adventure Course* (Level 2)   　 Exploration Course* (Level 3)

Adults      ￥1,100                  Adults       ￥3,000                1 person    ￥12,000

Children    ￥500                Children    ￥2,000