It was a gloomy day.We took a right turn from Bangkal towards Peace Avenue and a few moments later, we crossed the Diversion Road and was welcomed by the warm staff of D' Japanese Tunnel. Our itinerary included a tour that would take us around 15 minutes inside a 150-meter tunnel dug several decades ago.
It was not my first time to visit here, but it would definitely be my first time to enter the tunnel. I'd have to think of happy thoughts and shove images of earthquakes and collapsed mining sites in my head just to make me have that little courage to set my foot on the dark tunnel.
Then somebody turned on the lights, it wasn't really scary, after all. And we were 10 in the group, plus the two accommodating staff of D' Japanese tunnel who told us stories on how, when, and why these tunnels were dug. It was quite an interesting story. This tunnel has been dug during the 1940's, before the war between Japan and America broke. Poor Philippines, our country was a battlefield, and this tunnel would served as the Japanese's hiding place for their army, guns, ammunition, and even treasure!
Artifacts were found in this tunnel, like the molds the Japanese used for the gold bars and some of their arms. D' Japanese tunnel has preserved this tunnel, even the monkey cage that used to hold 5 or 6 persons for detention. Improvements have also been introduced, like these statues that shows us some glimpses of how this tunnel used to be. Also, the muddy trail is now replaced with a concrete path to allow visitors to explore without getting their feet dirty.
Dug by hundreds of Filipinos with the use of a shovel, this tunnel has actually stood the test of time and earthquakes. The tunnel ends in the General's Office. Though we can clearly see that at the back of the "General's Office" is a continuation of the tunnel and what seems to be three different paths that lead to who know where? We were told that some of these tunnels would take you to Malagos and to other different parts of Davao. But we can't fully satisfy our adventurous cravings because it's prohibited to explore deeper into the tunnel.
Apart from being a historical site, D' Japanese Tunnel has amenities such as swimming pool, restaurant, and hotel accommodation. It's actually befitting to take some rest on their rooms after exploring the tunnel and getting a short Japanese historical crash course.
But, this is not the end of the Japanese historical crash course. Some more Japanese historical sites will be featured on our next post as we drive up all the way to Mintal, Davao City. Maybe the tunnel would really lead to Mintal, don't you think?
This is part 1 of a series of post about Davao Familiarization Tour
sponsored by the Davao City Tourism Office.
All photos in this post courtesy of Jay Alfelor.
