20151010-20151017 Japan : Saitama-ken Kasukabe-shi 埼玉県 春日部市 - The Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel (Underground Temple) 首都圏外郭放水路 (地下神殿)

The Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel (Underground Temple) 首都圏外郭放水路 (地下神殿) The Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel 首都圏外郭放水路 (Shutoken Gaikaku Housuiro) is the world's largest underground water discharge facilities (50 meter underground, 6.3 km long, water discharge rate 200 cubic meter per second) for flood prevention for the north east side (the flatter side) of Tokyo Metropolitan Area 首都圏. Due to its unique shape of the underground water pressure regulating tank 調圧水槽 (117 meter long, 78 meter wide, 18 meter tall(as tall as the original RX-78-2 Gundam), containing 59 giant concrete columns (weight 500 tons each) ), it is often used as the set of special effect 特撮 movie/TV. The tank is nicknamed Underground Temple 地下神殿 by special effect 特撮 fans. The facilities have an exhibition hall called Ryuukyuukan 龍Q館. They also offered guided tour to the Underground Temple 地下神殿, but you have to reserve a place via their web site 4 weeks beforehand. The places usually got fully booked within a few hours. Obviously the tour will be cancelled if the weather is bad with heavy raining. The nearest train station is Minami-Sakurai station 南桜井駅 of Tobu Railway 東武鉄道 Noda Line.
Entrance of the facilities. The building is Ryuukyuukan 龍Q館	Entrance of the facilities	Monument of the drill which was being used to drill the tunnels for the facilities
The river next to the facilities. This is the water discharge outlet	Ryuukyuukan 龍Q館	The pumping devices at the base of the Ryuukyuukan 龍Q館 building
Getting the visitor's pass at the guided tour registration point inside Ryuukyuukan 龍Q館	View of the monument of the drill and the water discharge outlet from Ryuukyuukan 龍Q館	The control room of the facilities
Exhibits inside Ryuukyuukan 龍Q館	Exhibits inside Ryuukyuukan 龍Q館	Exhibits inside Ryuukyuukan 龍Q館
Exhibits inside Ryuukyuukan 龍Q館	Exhibits inside Ryuukyuukan 龍Q館	Exhibits inside Ryuukyuukan 龍Q館
Shin-chan's family of the anime Crayon Shin-chan クレヨンしんちゃん are citizens of Kasukabe-shi 春日部市, so the city uses the characters to promote the facilities	Postcard of Shin-chan's family inside the Underground Temple 地下神殿	Exhibits inside Ryuukyuukan 龍Q館
Exhibits inside Ryuukyuukan 龍Q館	View of the football pitch from Ryuukyuukan 龍Q館. The field is actually located above the Underground Temple 地下神殿	Walking towards the northern end of the football pitch, you can see a small white structure in the left, which is the entrance to the Underground Temple 地下神殿. The brown building in the middle is the cover of one of the vertical shaft of the facilities
Looking back at Ryuukyuukan 龍Q館 from the football pitch	Entrance of the Underground Temple 地下神殿	The Underground Temple 地下神殿
The Underground Temple 地下神殿	The vertical shaft next to the Underground Temple 地下神殿. The shaft is large enough to contain a space shuttle	The Underground Temple 地下神殿
The Underground Temple 地下神殿	The staircase leading to the bottom of the Underground Temple 地下神殿	The Underground Temple 地下神殿
The Underground Temple 地下神殿	The vertical shaft next to the Underground Temple 地下神殿	The vertical shaft next to the Underground Temple 地下神殿
The Underground Temple 地下神殿	The Underground Temple 地下神殿	The Underground Temple 地下神殿
The Underground Temple 地下神殿	The Underground Temple 地下神殿	The Underground Temple 地下神殿
The vertical shaft and the Underground Temple 地下神殿	The vertical shaft and the Underground Temple 地下神殿	The Underground Temple 地下神殿