Last year same month, my husband and I wanted to do some exploration since it was a long weekend because of Golden Week. But since we do not want to hassle ourselves going to crowded places and expensive travels here in Japan, we tried to look for the not-so-tourist-infested places to visit. Luckily one of my friends asked us if we want to join them for caving in Nippara Caves which is just two hours by train. I was a bit surprised to learn that there is such place near Tokyo.
Nippara Cave is located in Okutama City which is in the northwest part of Tokyo. It takes two hours by train via Ome line. And on weekends a Holiday Rapid train is available which goes straight to Okutama station. From there, it takes another 30 minutes by bus. Although the whole train ride was bit long, it did not matter much because we enjoyed the scenery – all shades of green trees and crystal clear river.
After our bus ride, we still needed to walk 20 minutes more going to the cave. Exploring the actual cave took us about an hour. Considered as the largest cave spot in the Kanto region, Nippara Cave consists of small limestone caves inside.
Before we head back to the bus station, we passed by the Nippara Picnic Area where we enjoyed the resting beside the crystal clear river and ate grilled fish freshly caught from the same river.
Walking back to the bus station was a big challenge for me because we decided to hike through the high hills. But conquering such was an achievement.
