Inukane Pass Tunnel

The Inunaki Tunnel lies on the old road over the Inunaki Pass in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The original stone-portalled tunnel dates to the Meiji era, around the late nineteenth century, when it was cut to link communities across the mountainous terrain. Long since superseded by a newer tunnel on the modern route, the old bore was closed to traffic and left disused, its blocked entrance and mossy masonry becoming a well-known feature of the pass.

The abandoned tunnel is among Japan's most notorious "haunted" spots, its reputation amplified by a real and serious crime committed in the area in the late 1980s, as well as by numerous unverified rumours and internet legends about apparitions and strange occurrences. These stories are anecdotal and, in places, sensational; visitors are encouraged to separate documented events from the folklore that has accumulated around the site, and never to treat tragedy as entertainment.

In plainer terms, the old Inunaki Tunnel is a genuine piece of Meiji-era road engineering and local infrastructure history, illustrating how mountain routes and their tunnels were built and later abandoned as transport networks modernised.

The old tunnel is disused and its entrance is sealed, and it is not maintained as a visitor attraction; there is no ticketing, tour or facility. The surrounding pass carries the newer road, and the old alignment is neglected and can be hazardous.

Access to the sealed structure and adjacent private or restricted land may amount to trespassing, and the area has seen anti-social behaviour and local sensitivity given the crime associated with it. Visitors should stay on public roads, respect barriers and residents, and avoid nighttime thrill-seeking.