This Japanese Cave Creates a Heart Shape With Sunlight

Published 21 May 2018, 16:10 BST
This Japanese Cave Creates a Heart Shape With Sunlight

Each year, near the spring and autumn equinoxes, morning sunlight passes through the arch of Japan's Kameiwa Cave to create the image of a shining heart. People describe the place as a real-life version of the kind of settings found in the animated fantasy films of Japan’s Studio Ghibli, like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away.

Despite the seeming natural beauty of the park, the tunnel was actually a civil engineering project. Reportedly carved through the rock in the 1600s, the tunnel diverts the river from its historic course, originally to irrigate rice fields.

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