Akiyoshidai Plateau

 

After exiting Akiyoshi-do cavern via the elevator I made the short walk to the observation deck overlooking the plateau.

Akiyoshidai is a karst plateau covering about 130 sq kilometers, about a third of which is classified as a Quasi National Park.

The circular observation platform has great 360 degree views over much of it

It is a very unusual landscape for Japan, and that for me in some ways is reminiscent of the moors back in the UK or some of the grasslands in the west of the US.

It was once completely forested, like the rest of Japan, but the local people took to burning the land cover once a year to stop the trees from growing and to allow susuki to grow.

Susuki is commonly known as Japanese pampas Grass, and was grown as feed for animals and as thatching material for roofs.

This annual burning still takes place every February and is known as yamayaki.

The other notable feature of Akiyoshidai is the limestone pinnacles, some as high as two meters, that dot the landscape.

Dozens of footpaths criss-cross the plateau, and the next day I would be walking clear across it on my walk to Hagi, but this evening I chose a simple circuit that stayed close to the observation deck.

After my walk I walked a few hundred meters to my room for the night in the youth hostel.

Unfortunately, it no longer exists.

The previous post in this series on day 27 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the Akiyoshido cave beneath the plateau

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