Akiyoshi - Greatest Cave and Greatest Karst Field

What?
Former Akiyoshi Town, now part of Mine Town (美祢市), is home of both the largest limestone cave as the largest karst field of Japan. There is also a safari zoo a little further in the quasi-national park.
Where?
Located in the heart of Yamaguchi Prefecture (山口県), both the cave and plateau are not served by any trains. Buses run regularly though from major Yamaguchi (山口駅) and Shin Yamaguchi (新山口駅) Stations, as well as from other cities like Mine, Nagato (長門) and Hagi (萩). Before corona there were even direct night buses from Osaka, but these were canceled until further notice.
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Japan Guide Outline

I woke up early. Very early. It wasn’t by design unfortunately, but as I was awake anyway I decided to take the earliest bus to the Akiyoshi Cave. The cave opens at the ungodly hour of 8:30, and on weekdays a bus actually takes you there with 20 minutes to spare. I dozed a little on the bus, dreaming of a quick passage through the cave and then hopefully a long hike on the nextdoor Akiyoshidai Plateau. Because that’s how I always imagined it; the cave as cosey despite being the biggest in Japan and the plateau as a hiker’s Walhalla.
Boy, was I wrong!

Not a second did I regret coming this early. I was the only one entering the cave…
And then I saw this sign: “the dragon’s lair”. Now you have to know, in Japan this kind of description is all too common. I have come to think of dragons as tiny slithering creatures, because usually all these dragon’s lairs are pretty small. But here… I had the feeling the dragon from The Hobbit trilogy could sneak up on me anytime! This cave is HUGE! No coziness here like in the Menfudo Cave. No claustrophobia here like in the Ryuga Cave. This is the biggest cave of its sort in Japan, and the size really impresses. There might not be so many stalagmites and stalactites, but the ones present are equally big and imposing. There are also many rice paddy formations and spacious limestone pools, but the most amazing thing was that I was all alone. I had to sneeze once and it echoed all around me for what felt like an eternity. I felt so ridiculously tiny.

I spent way too much time in the cave, but by taking an early bus I suddenly had gained 3 hours. So getting out of the cave I was checking which way to hike. I decided to start right off the bat and tackle the highest point, Mount Ryugoho (龍護峰) right away. But with 425 meters it’s not really that high.
The start of the hike was a bit disappointing with quite a long streak of asphalt. The fun only starts at a camping/glamping spot, and it only reaches some “hurray” moments when you leave the forest. What awaited were not an incredible amount of karst formations, but a peaceful sea of Japanese pampas grass (susuki) swaying and rustling in the enjoyable warm breeze. I was lucky with the weather; on this mid-November weekday there was not a cloud in the sky and the temperatures flirted with 20 degrees (Celcius, that is). And again I was lucky that I woke up so early, because this whole golden field was for me and for me alone.

The entrance to the cave was impressive enough.

The inside was equally fabulous.

Just like a rice paddy.

Breathtakingly beautiful.

There was one small part of ascent that was a bit tough, but once over this point, the remainder of the hike felt like a peaceful stroll. I had time enough to realize that not only was my imagination completely wrong regarding the Akiyoshi Cave, but also concerning the plateau it was pretty far off. Akiyoshi Plateau is a walker’s Walhalla, not a hiker’s one. I also imagined a suffocating amount of karst formations, but the sheer vastness of this place combined with the rather high vegetation make these rocks and stones look rather small (which they aren’t, don’t be mistaken!).
Don’t get me wrong though! Yes, if you are looking for a challenging hike and “in your face” karst formations, I would firstly recommend Mount Ryozen. But Akiyoshidai’s never ending vastness is truly breathtaking. Sure, the weather helped a great deal, but really, I would love to come here again to take some different courses. Because even though I spent 4 hours trotting along, I only had time to explore the southwest of this specious quasi national park.