THE JEEP OF MISHIMA TUNNEL [JP]

Exploration #273 The jeep of Mushima Tunnel. The Mishima Tunnel is an abandoned passage hidden along an old mountain road that once connected Kimitsu City and Kamogawa City in Chiba Prefecture. Completed in 1953, the tunnel was originally built as part of a remote forest road intended to link the inland communities of Kimitsu and Kamogawa.

Construction was difficult: the planned route crossed rugged terrain, and the soft rock surrounding the tunnel required full concrete reinforcement. Funding was so limited that the village reportedly sold off nearly all of its forest land, eventually even advertising the sale of the Kiwadadai plantation in local newspapers, to secure enough money to finish the project. For decades, the Mishima Tunnel served as a vital connection through the mountains, until the opening of the modern Kimikamo Tunnel on February 24, 1993. With the new route in operation, the old road and the Mishima Tunnel were abandoned.

Today, the remains of this forgotten road tell a mixed story. On the south (Kamogawa) side, the old approach is blocked by barriers but still relatively intact, aside from a small landslide area that poses some danger. It remains passable on foot. The north (Kimitsu) side, however, has fallen into deep neglect, overgrown with dense vegetation and barely recognizable as a former roadway. Both entrances of the tunnel are now sealed. At the Kimitsu-side portal lies one of the site’s most striking features: the heavily decayed shell of what appears to be a stolen Toyota Land Cruiser.

The vehicle has been abandoned for years, rusting away in front of the sealed entrance. As of January 2024, the Kimitsu Civil Engineering Office has posted a removal notice on the vehicle, though its extraction seems nearly impossible, the car is non-functional, and the surrounding road is completely inaccessible to vehicles. A memorial stone dedicated to workers who lost their lives during the construction also stands on the Kimitsu side, offering a poignant reminder of the human cost behind the tunnel’s creation. The Mishima Tunnel remains a powerful relic of postwar rural engineering, an isolated, atmospheric ruin that preserves both the ambition and the hardships of the era in which it was built.