Japanese Cave

If you are interested to visit a historical place, I think you have to visit Japanese caves or in the local language Lobang Jepang located in Bukittinggi, a town in Sumatera Island, Indonesia.

Japanese caves is a network as long as 1.5 km of underground bunkers & tunnels built by the Japanese during World War II , was built by thousands of Romushas (forced laborers) abducted from Java. Before the caves was first opened for tourists in 1985, a team of surveyors found hundreds of human skeletons inside it. A purification ceremony was held here before it was opened to the public.

Next to the caves is a canyon called Ngarai Sianok. A guide who brought us touring the canyon said that most of the dying Romusha were thrown mercilessly from the caves into the canyon through a small hole inside the caves.

photos by Ipat