That feeling to explore inside an underground cave
This area of amassed rock was called Oya Rock and was used to help in the building of the Imperial Hotel. The large-scale endeavor of continuous excavation that has gone on for decades has very few similar examples in the world. The underground excavation that is open to the public took a little under 70 years to complete, from 1919 to 1986 with the area going down 30 meters and covering a huge underground space of 20000㎡. During the war, it was used as an underground secret base and after the war, it was a storehouse. As you head down the long stairs of Oya Rock and reach the quarry, a spectacle will spread out in front of your eyes that is a wondrous space that cannot be imagined in Japan. Within the dim quarry, there is flickering light and red and blue illumination effectively placed everywhere which feels as if you’ve ended up in some movie. The walls have marks from pickaxes when they were used during the days of manual digging, so you can feel the gravity of history. The average temperature of the underground cavern is 8 degrees. A cool environment is maintained so the museum is great to visit during the heat of summer. Also, the space is used for a wide variety of events such as concerts, art exhibitions, performance stages and studios. Although it isn’t open very often, there is also a church provided so weddings can be held.
Oya, the town of stone where the surrounding area also has lots to see
There is a bus which runs from Utsunomiya Station to the museum, but if you can spare the time, you will want to get off at Oya Hashi Bus Stop and take a walk around. There are many sights to see such as the 27m-high hand-carved Peace Kannon, the nationally-designated Important Cultural Property of the Thousand-Armed Kannon at Oya-ji Temple, and the especially beautiful rock walls along the river at Oya Keikan Park.