10 May 2023 , 12:57
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An explorer has discovered a cave hidden under a mountain in Japan which locals know as the "entrance to hell".
The rural town of Pippu has around 4,000 residents and is usually just a stopping off point as travellers journey through to the bustling city of Asahikawa a few miles on.
Seiji Nakazawafor was on his way through the north of the country when someone he met on his journey told him about a cave that is rumoured to be a portal to the fiery pit.
Though there are plenty of stories about the cavern, most people who told them had never seen it for themselves. At first, the Sora24 reporter wondered if it was just an urban legend dreamed up by superstitious locals.
With nothing more than a vague location, the Minami Ichi-sen area of Pippu at the base of Mt Otokoyama, he set out to find it.
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There are few written records about the so-called gateway (Google Maps)Expecting to have to march through dense forest to find the gateway, he was stunned to find a sign on the roadside pointing to the infernal entrance.
And the cave itself can even be seen with a sharp eye from the street outside.
The entranceway is said to be part of the Ahun Ru Paro cave system, which were named by members of Hokkaido's indigenous Ainu people.
One reason for the lack of information about the cave could be because the Ainu people has no written language. This means that their folklore and traditions have to be passed on orally. .
A warning sign saying "Do Not Enter" blocks the cave (@arena_green/Twitter)One of the tales to make it from generation to generation is about a pair of elderly villagers who found themselves lost in the caves and only just managed to escape with their lives.
One of them was hellbent on returning to the caves, while the other said they would never go back.
The first pensioner died shortly after while the other lived on for many more years, adding to the mystery of the cavern..
Perhaps due to local superstition, a huge sign with the words "Do Not Enter" has been knocked up outside the cave.
The indigenous Ainu people gave the cave its name (Google Maps)The entrance is fenced off but determined ghost hunters could break in by crawling under a barrier, the reporter said.
Seiji opted to heed the warnings and didn't enter, but went around the back to double check it wasn't just a tunnel.
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But he found a solid rock wall, meaning that the only way it could lead was down.