Impressive scale
One of Japan’s largest caves, offering a powerful sense of the vast underground space.
Akiyoshi Cave
AI Summary
What kind of place is Akiyoshido Cave?
This is an AI-generated summary. Please check the official information for opening hours, fees, and closed days.
Explore one of Japan’s largest limestone caves on an easy-to-follow walking route.
Located in Akiyoshidai, Mine City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Akiyoshido is a vast limestone cave with highlights such as the Hyakumai-zara limestone terraces and Gankutsu-o. The cave stays around 17°C year-round, making it comfortable to explore. It suits visitors who enjoy natural formations and taking photos along the way.
Recommended for
Top 3 Highlights
Hyakumai-zara terraces
These limestone formations resemble a series of rice terraces and are among the cave’s most memorable sights.
A taste of adventure
Alongside the standard route, options such as an adventure course add a more hands-on element to the visit.
Before You Go
- The cave is relatively cool, so consider bringing an extra layer even in summer.
- Take your time and watch your footing while stopping to take photos.
- Entry times vary by entrance and route, so check the details in advance.
Suggested Route
After exploring Akiyoshido Cave, visit Akiyoshidai as well if time allows to experience both the underground and above-ground scenery.
Akiyoshido Cave, located in Mine City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, is one of Japan's largest limestone caves, extending 100 meters underground within Akiyoshidai Quasi-National Park. It boasts a total length of over 10.7 kilometers, and its magnificent scale is truly breathtaking. The temperature inside the cave remains a comfortable 17°C throughout the year, making it an ideal location for sightseeing.
Akiyoshido is known for its stunning natural formations and has been designated a special natural monument. The cave features various formations of stalactites, among which the group known as "Hyakumai-zara" resembles beautiful terraced rice fields, making it a popular photo spot.
Another highlight is the "King of the Caves," a stalactite around 8 meters tall that takes on a monster-like shape, making it a must-see for Instagram enthusiasts. Additionally, the "300 Million-Year Time Tunnel" offers a highly entertaining experience, where visitors are captivated by light and sound displays.
For adventure lovers, there is also an "Adventure Course" available, which provides a thrilling experience climbing ladders and maneuvering through stalactites with a flashlight (additional fees apply).
Furthermore, visitors can enjoy the "Akiyoshido: Dark Romance Experience," where the cave's lighting is turned off, allowing exploration with just one flashlight. A mysterious experience awaits in the darkness (reservation required).
Akiyoshido Cave is filled with natural wonders and beauty, enchanting visitors with its seasonal landscapes throughout the year.
Akiyoshido is known for its stunning natural formations and has been designated a special natural monument. The cave features various formations of stalactites, among which the group known as "Hyakumai-zara" resembles beautiful terraced rice fields, making it a popular photo spot.
Another highlight is the "King of the Caves," a stalactite around 8 meters tall that takes on a monster-like shape, making it a must-see for Instagram enthusiasts. Additionally, the "300 Million-Year Time Tunnel" offers a highly entertaining experience, where visitors are captivated by light and sound displays.
For adventure lovers, there is also an "Adventure Course" available, which provides a thrilling experience climbing ladders and maneuvering through stalactites with a flashlight (additional fees apply).
Furthermore, visitors can enjoy the "Akiyoshido: Dark Romance Experience," where the cave's lighting is turned off, allowing exploration with just one flashlight. A mysterious experience awaits in the darkness (reservation required).
Akiyoshido Cave is filled with natural wonders and beauty, enchanting visitors with its seasonal landscapes throughout the year.
Akiyoshi Cave Movies
![[山口観光]日本最大級の鍾乳洞「秋芳洞」と周辺観光(秋吉台、別府弁天池)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rWc1OQvbuzc/mqdefault.jpg)
Basic Information
- Spot Name
- Akiyoshi Cave
- Location
- 〒754-0511 1-3449 Akiyoshi, Akiyoshi-cho, Mine City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan
- Access
- About 40 minutes by bus from JR Shin-Yamaguchi Station to "Akiyoshido" (Akiyoshido Cave)
5 minutes by car from “Akiyoshidai IC” via the Chugoku Expressway “Mine East JCT” on the Ogori-Hagi Road. - Parking
- Near the main entrance:
- Municipal No.1 Parking Lot (200 cars)
- Municipal No.2 Parking Lot (300 cars)
One-time daily use: Regular cars 500 yen, motorcycles free (only in No.1 Parking Lot)
* Height limit of 2.5m
Near the Kuron谷 entrance:
- Regular cars 120 spaces, buses 10 spaces, both free
Near the elevator entrance:
- Regular cars 150 spaces, buses 2 spaces, both free - Business Hours
- 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM (last entry at 6:30 PM) from March to November (regular season)
8:30 AM - 4:30 PM (last entry at 5:30 PM) from December to February (off-peak season)
*Entry from the Kurodani entrance and the elevator entrance is until 4:30 PM. - Regular Holiday
- Open year-round (including regular business hours during the New Year holidays).
- Fees
- Adults: 1,300 yen, High school students: 1,300 yen, Middle school students: 1,050 yen, Elementary school students: 700 yen.
- Contact Information
- Phone Number：0837-62-0305
- Official Website
Map
Detailed Information
Akiyoshidai has more than 400 limestone caves. Among them, Akiyoshido is a particularly large giant cavern, measuring about 8.8 kilometers in total length, making it the largest limestone cave in Japan. The cave entrance opens onto Hirotani Polje, and is 20 meters high and 8 meters wide, from which a large amount of groundwater flows out. The interior spaces of the cave are enormous; at “Sengajo,” the ceiling is 30 meters high and the width is 100 meters, with the widest part reaching 200 meters, forming a विशाल underground chamber. Exploration of Akiyoshido has been carried out since the Meiji era and continues to this day.
The history of Akiyoshido’s formation has also been elucidated, and it is thought that the cave space we see today was created over a million years by dissolution caused by groundwater, lowering of the groundwater table, deposition of sand and gravel, collapse of the ceiling, and the development of cave formations. There are many sights to see inside the cave, but the spectacular “Hyakumai-zara” is a beautiful view unmatched anywhere else as a giant rimstone pool.
There are also many cave-dwelling creatures, including six species of bats such as the horseshoe bat on land, small animals such as ground beetles with degenerated eyes, and, in groundwater, many organisms such as the subterranean amphipod Shikoku yokoebi and subterranean freshwater snails like Akiyoshi mijin-tsubo, all with degenerated eyes.
Akiyoshido was formerly called “Taki-ana,” and as a sacred place where gods were believed to dwell, people rarely approached it. From the Meiji period onward, its magnificent scenery began to be introduced, and many tourists later came to visit. In 1926, Crown Prince (later Emperor Showa) visited the cave, and at that time it was named Akiyoshido.
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