This is a sacred place where nature and history are woven together.
Itabashi Buddist Shrine is a designated cultural asset of Joetsu City, and the faithful from around the neighborhood often make pilgrimages here.
More that one hundred Buddhist statues are crowded into a half-moon shaped cave, which has an entranceway of 30 meters across, and measures 13 meters deep and two meters high.
It is said that there are so many statues that each time one counts them the answer will be different. The shrine is said to house the spirit of eye disease.
Long ago, this place was crowded with sumo wrestling and bon odori (dancing) during the summer Obon Festival.