CONTENTS
Looking out onto the sea, it can be hard to imagine it looking any other way. The ocean will always be the ocean… right?
Well, the Akiyoshidai Plateau and Akiyoshido Cavern are beautiful and amazing reminders that the earth shifts in all kinds of interesting ways! If you're planning a trip out to south-western Japan, then this area of Yamaguchi Prefecture comes highly recommended. (Maybe you're making your way to Yamaguchi to see the gleaming red gates of the Motonosumi Inari Shrine, or the vibrant blue ocean surrounding the Tsunoshima Ohashi Bridge?) Head on over and find a geological area like none other in Japan.
300 Million Years of Geographical Change → One Fairytale Landscape
The Akiyoshidai Plateau is what's called a karst formation. The area was once a coral reef in the ocean, with millions of small creatures living and dying under the water. After 300 million years of slow change, however, the coral turned to limestone, and the soluble limestone wore away in a variety of ways, as it is wont to do. Now we're left with a fascinating collection of underground limestone caves, and solid chunks of rock dotting the aboveground landscape (…a karst plateau!) In an effort to protect the beautiful scenery, the area has become a quasi-national park. The way the grass changes from green to orangey brown throughout the year makes it worth a visit during any season.
Some visitors mistake this area for a mountain range, because of its high elevation, but in truth it's a plateau. After the coral on the sea floor turned the limestone, shifts in the Earth's crust raised the whole system high above the surrounding area. Not bad for 300 million years!
Now there are roads throughout the landscape that are perfect for a relaxing drive, for those who like road trips. The best way to explore the quasi-national park is probably via rental car.
Akiyoshidai Plateau
Akiyoshidai Quasi-National Park
Official Website
The plateau is covered in these flat grasslands, and you can look for miles in any direction without seeing a tree! Visit in February for an interesting sight: every year large fields of grass are burned, and flames fly across the dead grass. The air is filled with smoke, and it's all very dramatic. After the fields are burned, though, the new shoots of spring grass poke through the ashes, and the fields are soon green and grassy once again!
Head Underground for a Mysterious Network of Caves
As we mentioned before, the coral limestone left rocks scattered aboveground, and a network of caves scattered below. Some of these are huge, and they range all over the area. The most famous is Akiyoshido, Japan's largest and longest limestone cavern.
The caves are full of stalactites, stalagmites, and other amazing rock formations. There's even a history of mining in the area, which you can learn more about while you're underground.
See the water flowing through some of the caves, still at work carving out interesting shapes. It took 300 million years to get to this point, but soon enough the landscape will turn into something new and completely different.
Akiyoshido Cave
3449-1 Akiyoshidai, Shuhocho, Mine, Yamaguchi
Official Website
This huge cave stays at 63°F all year 'round, making it an interesting visit during both the summer and the winter months. Maybe you can escape the summer sun this year and spend some time admiring Japan's natural beauty from a unique perspective.
This might not be what most people imagine when they think of Japan, but the country is really full of different landscapes. If unusual view like the Akiyoshidai Plateau and Akiyoshido Cavern appeal to you, maybe you'll also like the sand dunes of Japan's little desert in Tottori Prefecture?
Or add us on Instagram and Facebook to share your pictures of Japan. 💖🗾
⇩ Get an even better view of the landscape in our video below. ⇩
Details
NAME:Akiyoshidai
MAP
PROFILE
Follow us @Japankuru on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
COMMENT
FEATURED MEDIA
VIEW MORE・The new Tokyo flagship for Volcom Japan is a center for all things skateboarding, street fashion, art, and culture, all in the heart of Shibuya! ・Volcom日本旗艦店東京澀谷登場 本格派滑板街頭潮流藝文新據點 #Volcom #japankuru #shibuya #日本購物 #日本潮流 #日本街頭時尚 #澀谷 #東京購物 #東京購物推薦 #東京潮店 #澀谷潮店 #滑板 #雪板 #衝浪 #볼컴 #시부야
Which snacks make the best Japanese souvenirs?~ Jaga Pirika ~ 일본과자 선물 뭐하지?~자가피리카 편~ #pr #calbee #jagapokkuru #japanesesnacks #japanesefood #japanesesouvenir #japantravel #japantrip #naritaairport #hokkaido #나리타국제공항 #일본여행선물 #흔하지않은기념품 #일본쇼핑리스트 #일본과자추천 #고구마과자 #일본간식추천 #일본면세점쇼핑 #개별포장 #일본감자칩 #도쿄나리타공항면세점 #현지인추천 #일본여행 #일본기념품리스트 #자가포쿠루 #자가피리카
Asakusa's Sanja Matsuri, one of the biggest festivals in all of Tokyo, is almost here! Make sure you check out the festival route so you don't miss all the festivities this May. #asakusa #sanjafestival #sanjamatsuri #asakusashrine #sensoji #sensojitemple #japanesefestival #shintoshrine #japaneseculture #tokyo #tokyotrip #tokyotravel #asakusasightseeing #matsuri #japantrip #japantravel #springinjapan #tokyotravel #japankuru #산자마츠리 #아사쿠사 #일본마츠리 #일본여행 #일본5월
Odaiba's DiverCity Tokyo Plaza is home to the famous real-size 20m-tall Unicorn Gundam, and the popular shopping center has even more Gundam on the inside! Check out the Gundam Base Tokyo on the 7th floor for shelves upon shelves of Gunpla, and the Gundam Base Tokyo Annex on the 2nd floor for cool anime merchandise. Both shops have tons of limited-edition items! #pr #odaiba #tokyo #tokyotrip #japantrip #japantravel #PR #divercity #divercitytokyoplaza #tokyoshopping #gundam #unicorngundam #gundambasetokyo #anime #otaku #gunpla #japankuru #오다이바 #다이바시티도쿄 #오다이바건담 #건담 #일본건담 #건프라 #건담베이스도쿄
Evangelion, in miniature!? Tokyo's SMALL WORLDS Miniature Museum is actually a must-see for anime lovers, thanks to the tiny Evangelion Hangar and Tokyo-III... plus a whole universe of other scenes both real and fictional. #smallworlds #smallworldstokyo #tokyotrip #tokyotravel #evangelion #eva #anime #miniature #miniatures #animefigure #japantrip #japantravel #에반게리온 #스몰월드 #에반겔리온 #スモールワールズ #오다이바 #아리아케
Have you sat down for a snack at Sumida Aquarium yet? This aquarium next to Tokyo Skytree is known for its penguins and garden eels, but we can't get enough of their cute snacks! There are lots of good seats around the aquarium, too, so it almost feels like one big cafe. 🐧 • Find out more at Japankuru.com! (Link in bio.) • #japankuru #sumidaaquarium #skytree #tokyoskytree #solamachi #sumida #tokyo #tokyotrip #tokyotravel #aquarium #japanesesweets #themecafe #すみだ水族館 #Japan #日本 #일본 #Japon #ญี่ปุ่น #Japão #япония #japantravel #日本旅行 #日本旅遊 #japan_of_insta #japantrip #traveljapan #japan🇯🇵 #igerstokyo #explorejapan
For anime fans, the Evangelion areas at Small Worlds Miniature Museum are a must see! The tiny miniature people in the Evangelion Hangar look like ants beneath the moving Unit-01, Unit-00, and Unit-02! And over in Tokyo-III, characters like Shinji, Rei, and Katsuragi live life on a miniature scale. #odaiba #tokyo #tokyotrip #japantrip #japantravel #ariake #smallworlds #miniaturemuseum #smallworldstokyo #tokyotravel #evangelion #eva #anime #miniature #miniatures #animefigure #japankuru #스몰월드 #에반게리온 #오다이바 #오다이바관광 #오다이바스몰월드 #미니어쳐