Ama-no-Iwato Cave was added to Your Favorites!
Ise-Shima NP, Mie
Claim this place to tell your story your way.
The “cave” is a very small rock door: a 1993 geological survey measured its limestone opening at about 50 cm across, with a tiny torii in front as spring water flows out.
This spring was included in Japan’s original 1985 “100 Best Waters.” In a 2015 Environment Ministry public vote, it placed 4th in the “hidden water” category, with 377 votes.
At the spring’s cherry gathering, Erihara’s Haya Mochi group serves fresh cakes with aonori or kinako. Its rapid pounding is said to have begun to feed crowds at Izawanomiya’s rice-planting festival.
Local tradition identifies this spring cave as the place where Amaterasu hid after her brother Susanoo’s violence. The site is also known as Erihara no Mizuana—“Erihara Water Hole.”
Local people also call the surrounding area Takamagahara, a Mie tourism report says—the same name Japanese mythology gives to the gods’ heavenly realm. Here, the mythic name belongs to the landscape too.
A 1993 hydrogeology paper reports that water from this spring is used at nearby Izawanomiya’s annual rice-planting festival—an unexpected connection between a cave spring and Shima’s sacred farming tradition.
A teahouse beside the cave’s entrance appears in the 1797 Ise Pilgrimage Guidebook. Japan’s Environment Ministry says it may have been the oldest tea house, though its history is unclear.
Pearl pioneer Kokichi Mikimoto helped pay to improve the approach in the Taisho era, then planted a camphor tree to mark its completion. It still grows by the worship hall as the “Mikimoto Camphor.”
On the approach stands “Iwato-zakura,” an Oshima cherry more than 360 years old. Its white blossoms open alongside fresh leaves, and Shima City has designated the tree a natural monument.
This spring is not only sacred scenery: its water feeds Shima-yosui, and runoff reaches Kamiji Dam, a reservoir used as the Shima Peninsula’s water store. A legendary source still helps sustain daily life.
The spring’s flow creates Misogi Falls, where practitioners still perform waterfall purification. Misogi means ritual cleansing, so the name points to a spiritual practice—not just a picturesque cascade.
On the 22nd of each month, Erihara’s local seniors hold a rite and clean and maintain the grounds. Nearby, a water deity believed to grant rain is enshrined—a fitting hope at Shima’s water source.
