We visit Japan’s “cave of death,” said to end the life of those who dream of it

Will this be Mr. Sato’s last adventure?

“I don’t want to do this.”

Those aren’t words we’re used to hearing from Mr. Sato, our crack Japanese-language correspondent and acting head of RocketNews24’s Department of Craziness. This is, after all, the same person who was totally fine with getting a Donald Trump makeover, smoking some random leaves he found on the sidewalk, and applying icy cooling spray to his dick. In short, the man is down for a lot of things that the rest of humanity is not.

But this time was different.

First, a little background. Given his beautiful, ambitious, tenacious, stylish, hygienic, innovative, and trend-setting lifestyle, you might be under the impression that Mr. Sato was born and raised in the heart of cosmopolitan Tokyo. In reality, though, Mr. Sato (and his twin brother) are natives of the provincial prefecture of Shimane. In addition to being the home of the Izumo Taisha shrine, one of the most sacred sites of the Shinto faith, Shimane also has many other sites that are shrouded in legend and folklore.

Another thing that might surprise you about Mr, Sato is that apparently some of his hometown friends are even crazier than he is. On a recent trip back to Shimane, one of his hometown acquaintances suddenly issued the following invitation:

“Let’s go that cave that people die if they see. Don’t you want to check it out?”

The cave in question is called Inome Cave, and Mr. Sato was quite sure that no, he did not want to check it out. Nevertheless, his friend insisted, and shortly thereafter Mr. Sato found himself in a car with his death-daring pal, on a 30-minute drive from the center of Izumo City to its outskirts.

The road wound through forests and mountains, and the drive probably would have been perfectly pleasant if not for the fact that it was could be leading to Mr. Sato’s potential perishing.

Along the way, they passed by a small fishing town, with boats pulled up onto the shore. Eventually, they spotted a sign directing motorists to Inome Dokutsu (dokutsu being the Japanese word for “cave”), and made the final turn.

As they exited the car, Mr. Sato saw more boats and fishing equipment strewn about, though there was an eerie lack of people to be seen. The only other person around was a lone man fishing beside the bay. Since it was a Monday, Mr. Sato wondered if it was OK for the man not to be at work, although he quickly decided that f he was going to worry about something, his own remaining time among the living was a more fitting topic of concern.

In contrast to the tranquil, calming bay, ahead of Mr. Sato stood a wall of rock, into which the mouth of Inome Cave opened.

Right outside the entrance is a sign. This being ostensibly a matter of life and death, the information is presented in both Japanese and English, with the latter reading:

“If you dream of entering this cave you will surely meet with death.”

Unfortunately, this isn’t a case of an awkward translation, as that’s a perfect match for what’s written on the sign in Japanese. However, having come this far, Mr. Sato now felt compelled to press onward, and so he entered the cave.

But although the legends say Inome Dokutsu is a portal to the realm of the dead, it’s actually not very big on the inside.

There’s a small alter, and not far after that, a very appropriate dead end.

Now, the silver lining to all this is that just entering the cave won’t kill you. The legends hold that you’ll only die after you dream of entering it. Of course, actually entering the cave in real life, and seeing what it looks like, is sort of a prerequisite for being able to dream about it, but technically Mr. Sato should still be able to ward off the curse by simply never sleeping again.

But on the other hand, this also means that once you’ve seen the cave, even if you haven’t visited it yourself, you’re just as much at risk as Mr. Sato is.

So…um…sorry about all those photos.

▼ Keep those canned coffees coming!

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