Nagaoka Hyakuana Kofun

A graveyard from the 7th century worth visiting

By Maren Pauli

Community writer

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From distance the rock looks like some kind of house, the holes being windows and doors

Go up and have a look inside the caves!

In many caves are stone buddha statues

A shrine among the graves

The graves and buddha statues have dirrefent colors. Some are painted, others are covered with moss and lichen

In front of the graves grow a kaki tree and other fruits and vegetables

On my way to Nikko I suddenly saw this rather strange stone formation from the window of the car while passing Nagaoka. I asked my friend to pull over, as I was really interested in what that is. The manmade caves in the big rock are graves from first half of the 7th century. Altogether there are 52 graves, many of them have a stone buddha statue inside. I walked around the site and had a look into the caves, but I had to be careful because the stone stairs are not as easily accessible as they may look! For accommodation in the area, I would recommend HOTEL MYSTAYS Utsunomiya.