Akiyoshido the Greatest Cavern in Japan

 

Beneath the Akiyoshidai limestone karst in central Yamaguchi, sit 400 caves, the largest of which is named Akiyoshido.

It is said to extend 10 kilometers, but only the first kilometers is opend to the public.

The cave was formed by limestone being dissolved in water, and through the first part of the cave a river still runs....

The first part is truly a cavern, the size of an aircraft hangar...

later the path into the deeper reaches does some climbing and descending...

many of the formations encountered have evocative names. There are multilingual explanations at many points.

For those that don't want to walk the full kilometer back to the etrance, an elevator takes you up to the plateau from where a shuttle take you back to the entrance during the busy season.

Or you can, as I did this time, walk from the elevator exit to the observation deck overlooking the plateau.

When I first visited Akiyoshido many years ago, many of the formations whoilluminated with coloured lights. A few shots from then can be seen here.

Though it is not far from Hagi, Akiyoshido is much esier to reach by public transport from Shin Yamagucho or Yamaguchi stations.

The previous post was on the nearby Akiyoshi Inari Shrine

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