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Japan’s “Underground Temple” now up for virtual touring in Google Street View

Running underneath Kasukabe City, Saitama Prefecture, lies the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel – a sprawling network of waterways as long as its name. Its 6.3 kilometers (3.9 miles) of tunnels are intended to divert flood water from area rivers.

Also, since the massive project was completed in 2009 its enormous columns and walls are in relatively pristine condition giving the place an almost magical atmosphere. As a result it’s earned the nickname of the “Underground Temple” and has been frequently used in movies and music videos.

Tours run regularly for free which you can join, or just take a peek right now from the comfort of your browser with Google Street View.

The range of this tour is kind of disappointing, however, only allowing you to wander a little around a reservoir tank and up a set of unending stairs. Once you try to go up the second flight of these steps, it transports you right to the bottom again. And that cool looking catwalk up top? Forget about it.

▼ Although they scoff at signs, even the might of Google is no match for an authoritative pylon.

Although not much, some users were pleased with the glimpse offering comments like:

“Wow, that’s so wide.”
“Google sure is something that they can understand the value in this.”
“It’s Lord of the Rings*!”*
“You cannot escape from it.”

True, despite the limitations it’s still a cool place and there are also some neat 360-degree photos of the area along the bar at the bottom of the screen. These help to give a better sense of scale to the channel.

Many comments also reference the various media appearances this place has made in the past including Ultraman and a few episodes of Kamen Rider.

In addition, the “temple” has shown up in several music videos such as this one for Daichi Miura.

While not quite the epic virtual journeys of Gunkanjima or Angkor Wat on Google Street View, it’s neat for a quick whirl. And if you’d like to book a tour to see more of the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel then check out the website below.

Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel

Source: Google Maps, PC Watch via Hachima Kiko (Japanese)
Videos: YouTube – Yakanbu Yugio, medusa vamps

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