Overview
A copper mine worked for 1,300 years; its tunnels trace the changing technology of extraction.
About this place
The Osarizawa Mine was a mine in Kazuno, Akita Prefecture. With tunnels totalling about 800 km, it is the site of the largest and oldest group of copper veins mined in Japan. Legend has it that the copper mine was discovered in 708 (Wado 1), and it closed in 1978. The estimated total output was 300,000 tonnes of copper, 4.4 tonnes of gold and 155 tonnes of silver. The site has been open to the public as the Osarizawa Mine Historic Site, but public opening ends with fiscal 2025, and from fiscal 2026 it will become a field-trip facility by reservation only.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source ja.wikipedia.org ↗Key facts
Founded / opened：708 (traditional) Highlights / collection：Remains of mine tunnels, Mining tools Genre：Metalwork, Architecture
Source ja.wikipedia.org ↗Before you go
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