Chugoku Sanyo, San-in 中国地方山陽、山陰 - Akiyoshido 秋芳洞, Akiyoshidai 秋吉台

Visited 26.04.2015 (Sun)

Entrance to Akiyoshido.

Wonders of nature. Made our way by bus to Akiyoshido and Akiyoshidai from Yuda Onsen. I was actually quite looking forward to visit this designated special natural monument in Yamaguchi Prefecture since this is my debut encounter with limestone caves and I was deeply attracted to the photos showcasing both attractions that were featured in many travel guides. Akiyoshido is the largest limestone cave in East Asia and is 100 m below Akiyoshidai, which on the other hand, is the largest karst formation in Japan. The name, Akiyoshido, was give by the Emperor Showa in 1926 when he was the Crown Prince on his visit to the cave.

Named Hyakumaizara 百枚皿 or "hundred plates", this is one of the most stunning limestone formations I have ever come across. In fact, there are more than 500 water collecting "plates" in this section of the limestone cave.

I felt that it looked like rice terraces as well! 

Karataki (空滝), a "frozen" or dried up waterfall lookalike. 

Majestic looking Koganebashira (黄金柱), standing at 15 m tall and 4 m in width. The flow of water from the ceiling onto the limestone walls and subsequent reaction corrosion of limestone by water gave rise to this unique structural formation. 

Daikokubashira (大黒柱).

Fujisan lookalike hidden in a limestone cave (洞内富士).

Subogaki. Does this bear any resemblances to straw wrapped persimmon? 

Exploring Akiyoshido. After alighting at Akiyoshido bus center, we passed by rows of souvenir shops before arriving at the entrance of the limestone cave. The first thing which caught my attention was the cobalt blue coloured river flowing out from the magnificent looking cave. The idea of going into a cave was quite intimidating initially. Not sure why, but we tend to associate caves with bats or other nocturnal flying creepy creatures and this preoccupation was the source of our fear. Fortunately, the limestone cave of Akiyoshido is free of bats and the tunnel has just enough lighting to ensure ease of movement. Having said that, do take care of slippery surfaces and the slightly colder temperatures (around 17 degC) while trekking through the 1 km sightseeing route inside the cave. What makes Akiyoshido so intriguing are the numerous mysteriously beautiful limestone structures/formations sculptured solely by nature's artistic pair of hands, which will leave everyone spellbound and impressed. I have to admit that my photos did not do justice to how stunning Akiyoshido look like in reality (in fact these are the best I could capture). This is definitely one attraction I hope I could have allocated more time to explore and would highly recommend all to visit in Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Exploring Akiyoshidai. We boarded the lift which propelled us from underground back to ground level. It takes another 5 minutes from the lift we alighted from through a path, well shaded by tall sturdy cedar trees lined on both sides before Akiyoshidai came into sight.

Followed the trail from the lift to Akiyoshidai.

Karst Observatory.

Origin. It is said that the limestone that formed Akiyoshidai were originated from coral reefs whcih existed about 300 million years ago. The unique karst topography that we witness today is a result of dissolution of limestone by rainwater throughout the years. The numerous limestone pinnacles, protruding outwards from the vast karst plateau, is such an amazing sight to behold. Examine the surface of these pinnacles and you will notice that there are channels running vertically and irregularly in a wavelike pattern, which were created from dissolution of limestone by rainwater. Visitors can explore the karst plateau comfortably by utilising the footpaths or capture a panoramic overview of this natural formation simply from the observatory (karst tenbodai カルスト展望台). Sadly due to time constraint, we could only made our way up to the observatory to admire Akiyoshidai from an elevation before making our way back to Akiyoshido Bus Center.

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Akiyoshido 秋芳洞, Akiyoshidai 秋吉台
山口県美祢市秋芳町秋吉3506-2
Operating hours:
Mar - Nov: 0830 - 1730 hrs
Dec - Feb: 0830 - 1630 hrs
Entrance fee = 1,200 yen; discounted price for foreigners = 700 yen
https://karusuto.com/spot/akiyoshido/
https://karusuto.com/spot/akiyoshidai/

How to get there? 

(1) By bus
- From Yamaguchi JR Station 山口駅 Bus Stop 2 or Yuda Onsen Dori 湯田温泉通 Bus Stop 6, take JR Chugoku Bus heading for Akiyoshido.
Bus schedule: http://www.chugoku-jrbus.co.jp/pdf/route_bus/yamaguchi/20180317time_yamaguchi_2.pdf
Bus fare = 1,210 yen (from Yamaguchi JR Station); 1,140 yen (from Yuda Onsen)

- From Shin Yamaguchi JR Station 新山口駅, take Bocho Bus 坊長バス heading for Akiyoshido.
Bus schedule: http://www.city.yamaguchi.lg.jp/uploaded/life/40241_66647_misc.pdf
Look under 新山口駅 ⇒ 美東 ⇒ 東萩駅・秋芳洞, for buses departing from Shin Yamaguchi JR Station.
Bus fare = 1,170 yen


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Commemorative stamps: