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G-Cans: the World's Largest Drain

The world's largest drain sits below the city of Saitama, Japan

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Category Subterranean Sites

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The G-Cans project (Shutoken Gaikaku Housui Ro, or the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel) is a massive underground waterway and water storage area built by the Japanese government to protect Tokyo from flooding during the monsoon seasons.

Begun in 1992, the two-billion-dollar project will be finished in 2009. The tunnels run over 100 km, but perhaps the most impressive features of the drainage system are the 213-foot-tall silos and the 83-foot-tall, 580-foot-long pillared main tank known as the "Underground Temple," which was built to collect run-off from the city's waterways. The humongous drainage system can pump over 200 tons of water a second.

A free tour is offered in Japanese only. It is requested that you bring along a translator for "safety reasons."

Explorer of Japanese ruins Michael John Grist will be leading an Obscura Day expedition to the G-Cans project, a massive underground waterway and water storage area built by the Japanese government to protect Tokyo from flooding during the monsoon seasons.

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Hours Tours at 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 - 4:00 p.m. Office open from Mon. - Fri. 9:00-16:30 However, tours are ikely to change without a previous notice because of operation of facility, constructions and so on.
Website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-Cans_project
Address 720 Kamikanasaki, Kasukabe city, The 2nd floor at Ryukyukan, Showa drainage pump station, Saitama, Japan
Cost Free

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By train '40 minutes' walk from Mimami-Sakurai Station, Tobu Noda Line. (Approx. 3km) By car '30 minutes' drive on Route 16 toward Noda, from Iwatsuki IC of Tohoku Expressway. (Approx.17km) '40 minutes' drive on Route 16 toward Noda, from Kashiwa IC of Joban Expressway. (Approx.20km)

Comments

Anonymous March 30, 2011

The tours are put on hold temporarily, until the power outages in the Tokyo area stop; see http://www.ktr.mlit.go.jp/edogawa/project/gaikaku/new/index.html
Anonymous October 6, 2009

Wonder what the location fee is to shoot your science-fiction epic in there? You know they'll be asked soon...