Explore Tokyo’s Giant “Underground Temple” in Minecraft, Thanks to the Japanese Government

Minecraft players can now explore one of Japan’s most amazing and lesser-known landmarks without leaving home. The Japanese government has created a free downloadable Minecraft map of the G-Cans facility, the world’s largest underground flood control system.

Located in the Saitama Prefecture, just outside Tokyo, the facility is officially known as the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel. But in Japan, most people call it “G-Cans,” or by its other nickname, the underground temple (chika shinden).

The name fits, the site’s massive, pillar-filled water tank looks more like something from a fantasy video game than a real-world building. It’s even been used as a filming location for shows like Kamen Rider, music videos, and movies.

Thanks to Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), you can now walk through this giant underground space in Minecraft. The ministry created the map not just for fun, but to help teach people about how the facility works and why it’s important. They even released a short video on their official YouTube channel that shows how G-Cans works and what it looks like in Minecraft.

In real life, G-Cans stretches over 6 kilometers underground. It was built to catch and manage floodwaters from rivers during Japan’s rainy and typhoon seasons. Water flows into five deep shafts, then is slowly pumped into the larger Edogawa River and Tokyo Bay. It took more than 10 years to build and was completed in 2006. Since then, it has helped stop major flooding across the Tokyo area.

The Minecraft version of G-Cans is more than just the famous underground space. You can explore aboveground areas too, including neighborhoods, rivers, and homes. There’s even a control room where players can simulate draining floodwater through the system.

The map is available for free on the official website of the Edogawa River Office, which manages the G-Cans facility. You’ll need Version 1.21.1 of Minecraft Bedrock Edition or Version 1.21.0 of Minecraft Education Edition to play it.

This unique release is both educational and fun. It gives players a hands-on way to learn about one of Japan’s most impressive engineering projects. And thanks to Minecraft, people all over the world can now step inside Tokyo’s underground temple and see for themselves how it protects the city from floods.

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