History/Culture

Amagi Tunnel

Mt. Amagi which divides the south of the Izu Peninsula from the north used to make transportation to and from the two areas difficult.
In 1905 they constructed a tunnel between Izu City (previously known as Amagi Yugashima Town) and Kawazu Town, spending a total of 103,016 yen, 44 sen and 1 rin (about 783 USD. This was quite a lot of money back then.)

Thanks to the construction of the tunnel, people were now about able to travel easily through Mt. Amagi.
The Amagi Tunnel is one of the famous spots along the Odoriko walking path. The tunnel has a width of 4.12 m (about 13.5 feet) and length of 445.5 m (about 1461.6 feet). In 2004 it was designated an important cultural property by Japan, being the longest and oldest stone tunnel nationally. The tunnel was constructed using Yoshida stones from an area that used to be known as Ohito Town, implementing a special stone-stacking method.