Akiyoshi

Today we left Hiroshima and headed as far south as we are going on this trip which is Yamaguchi prefecture! This is the prefecture at the end of the the Honshu island of Japan. We’ve actually loved Hiroshima, it definitely has a lot of variety with its history, beautiful scenery, fun islands, fully blossomed cherry blossoms, and a bit more of a chilled city vibe it’s gone very quickly and I can’t quite believe we are already leaving!

We travelled on the train to yamaguchi and dropped our bags off before taking a bus to go see Akiyoshido limestone Cave. After getting the bus and walking for about 20 minutes through a very sleepy town we came across the entrance. With a roaring river we entered the cave and it was absolutely HUGE. It’s over 11km long of which 1000m is open to the public and the ceilings were 80m high! It was an absolute sight to behold! The cave was actually once a coral reef - yes it was underwater but over millions of years it was pushed up onto land due to tectonic plate activity and the rainwater has eroded the land forming these HUGE floor to ceiling stalagmites and stalactites and of course the cave it was an incredible work of Mother Nature. I wasn’t sure what to expect but this was absolutely breathtaking! I think the highlight for me was the “100 plates” which were formed by limestone deposits and are also nicknamed “the rice fields” as they look like an Ariel view of rice fields it was just extraordinary we were absolutely fascinated!

After wondering through for about an hour we then headed up to the observatory deck through a lift in the cave?? I couldn’t quite wrap my head around a lift being in the middle of this cave!! It takes you up 80m and then a 500m walk up to the top where we enjoyed the view of the limestone plateau and the grasslands of Akiyoshidai. Enjoying the Sun on our faces and the stunning views we sat and had an ice cream - what a treat!

We then walked down and back to the bus stop to work our way back to our accommodation. Today was absolutely fascinating we both loved learning about the cave and formation of it!Read more