Chiba south · Futtsu / TakeokaNo.107★Open in map →

Torozaka Daishi Tunnel

historyOff the trail — and worth it

A hand-dug approach tunnel to a small temple hall in Futtsu, Chiba — a roughly 100-metre passage and open cutting with walls rising about 10 metres, still marked by the hand-tool grooves used to carve them.

FromTokyo Stn
~2 hrtrain + walk (hourly)
Get off atJR Takeoka Stn
On foot
Torozaka Daishi Tunnel

Directions ↗

The sweet spot

There is little English information about it, it sits off the main tourist routes, and its entrance is only a small gate on a highway, so it stays a photographer's find rather than a landmark.

Where it is

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What to look for — in walking order

licensed photographKatorisi / CC BY-SA 4.0

Red entrance gatea small red gate set back from National Route 127, the start of the approach
The tall cuttingwalls of about 10 metres flanking a passage and open cut roughly 100 metres long
Hand-tool marksgrooves left in the rock faces by the hand tools used to carve the stone
Torozaka Daishi hallthe small Tozenji temple hall reached by steps at the far end of the cutting

How to actually get there

Tokyo Stn → Chiba Stn (JR Sobu Rapid Line, ~40 min).
Chiba Stn → Takeoka Stn (JR Uchibo Line local, ~70 min; about once an hour).
Takeoka Stn → the red gate (walk ~1.5 km / 20 min north on Route 127).

JR Sobu Rapid + JR Uchibo Line: Tokyo Stn →(JR Sobu Rapid Line toward Chiba, ~40 min)→ Chiba Stn, change →(JR Uchibo Line local toward Tateyama, ~70 min)→ Takeoka Stn. Total about 2 hours, one change, around 2,090 yen. Note: south of Kimitsu the Uchibo Line runs only about once an hour, so check the next departure before you leave.
return the same way: Take an Uchibo Line train back toward Kimitsu and Chiba. Trains run all day but only about once an hour on this stretch, so check the next departure on the platform board at Takeoka when you arrive.

Directions from my location (Google Maps) ↗

About the place

Torozaka Daishi is a hall of Tozenji temple in the Takeoka area of Futtsu, on the Boso Peninsula. The old approach followed the ridge of Shiroyama hill, once the site of Zokumi Castle, but the climb was steep, so a route was cut straight through the rock instead. The result is a tall, narrow corridor — tunnel and open cutting together running about 100 metres, walls rising to roughly 10 metres — its surfaces still marked by the grooves of the hand tools that dug it. A small red gate beside National Route 127 marks the entrance.

How to enjoy it

Watch for the small red gate on Route 127 near Takeoka; from the parking area it is a short walk into the cutting. Daytime is the time to come — angled light filtering into the passage creates the atmosphere the place is known for, and in summer the tunnel stays notably cool.

Background & history

According to Tozenji temple, the passage was first cut by hand in the Meiji-to-Taisho period (roughly 1868 to 1926), when the ridge route proved too steep for pilgrims. In the early Showa years local residents deepened and enlarged it using stone-cutting techniques from nearby Nokogiriyama, a mountain long quarried for building stone, giving the cutting its present height. Local tradition holds that the monk Kobo Daishi rested at this spot during his travels, and the hall still holds a monthly festival on the 21st.

Before you go

Cash: There is nothing to pay — it is an open temple approach, not a paid site. Rural trains and shops here often take cash only, so carry some coins. Bring water for the walk.
Good to know: It is a quiet religious site. Keep your voice low, especially if someone is praying at the hall.
Another way: If you would rather not walk the roadside, a taxi from Takeoka Station takes only a few minutes; taxis are not always waiting, so you may need to phone for one.
After you get off: From Takeoka Station, walk north along National Route 127 for about 1.5 km (roughly 20 minutes). The small red entrance gate is set back on the inland side of the road.