VIDEO: Dive into limestone caves near MCAS Iwakuni, Yokota AB

Stairs are visible in Nippara Limestone Caves.

(Photos by Takahiro Takiguchi/Stripes Japan)

In the midst of hottest season with record-breaking scorching weather continues, you may want to seek dry shelter at a cool place.

Although Yokota Air Base and MCAS Iwakuni are hundreds of kilometers apart, both have limestone caves for you to explore nearby!

Nippara Shonyudo Limestone Caves near Yokota Air Base

The entrance of Nippara Limestone Caves.

Nippara Limestone Caves (Photo by Takahiro Takiguchi/Stripes Japan)

Some rocks in Nippara Limestone Caves look red under the lights.

Nippara Limestone Caves (Photo by Takahiro Takiguchi/Stripes Japan)

The Nippara Limestone Caves in western Tokyo are a great place to escape the humidity and heat. The attraction is in the Okutama Area, a short 75-minute drive from Yokota Air Base.

This serene spot served as a sacred Buddhist site for meditation and training, so the rock formations and halls have names with Buddhist origins. You’ll find the Hakuikannon (Bodhisattva in white dress), Jigokudani (valley of the hell) and Amidanohara (the field of Amitabha) as you explore this brightly-lit cave.

To tell you the truth, when I visited the cave, I was expecting the cave to cool me down enough to need a jacket, but once I started walking along the spacious cave with uphill and stairs, the temperature was just fine and that made me enjoy walking around mysterious geological wonderland.

If you plan on driving to the cave, be prepared as the narrow road does tend to get easily congested, especially on weekends. So, visiting on weekdays is a good idea.

Nippara Shonyudo (Limestone Cave)

Address: 1052 Nippara, Okutama Town, Nishikitama-gun, Tokyo (a 75-minute drive from Yokota AB) (Free parking lot is available for 700 vehicles)
Hours: Apr. – Nov., 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Dec. – Mar., 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Admission: 900 yen for adults; 700 yen for middle school students; 600 yen for elementary students
Website
Phone: 0428-83-8491

Akiyoshido Limestone Cave near MCAS Iwakuni

Groundwater is visible in Akiyoshido Limestone Cave.

Akiyoshido Limestone Cave (Photo by Takahiro Takiguchi/Stripes Japan)

A path is visible in Akiyoshido Limestone Cave.

Akiyoshido Limestone Cave (Photo by Takahiro Takiguchi/Stripes Japan)

If you are on or around MCAS Iwakuni, take a quick daytrip to this natural wonder. The Akiyoshidai Karst Plateau and Akiyoshido limestone cave are two must-see attractions inside the Akiyoshidai Quasi National Park.

It takes less than two hours by car from MCAS Iwakuni to reach the vast plateau on Honshu’s west end.

One-hundred meters below the fresh green hills and mountains dotted with a cluster of white limestone formations, you’ll find Japan’s largest limestone caves at 100 meters wide and 11 kilometers long.

Visitors can access a one-kilometer portion of the cave via an elevator near the Akiyoshidai Observation Tower.

The cave has many otherworldly formations, terraces of limestone pools and underground waterfalls everyone in your group will enjoy exploring.

Escape the summer heat to this 62-degree Fahrenheit limestone wonderland!

Akiyoshido Limestone Cave

Location: Akiyoshidai, Mine City, Yamaguchi Prefecture (a 100-minute drive from MCAS Iwakuni)
Hours: Oct. – June, 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.; July – Sept., – 5:30 p.m.
Admission: 1,600 yen for high school students or older, 1,300 yen for middle school students, 850 yen for elementary school students
Website
Phone: 0837-62-0115 (Mine City Tourism Association)

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni

Yokota Air Base

Takahiro Takiguchi

Takahiro Takiguchi is a writer based in Yokosuka, Japan. Takiguchi covers travel, food and culture stories for Stars and Stripes Japan. Follow along as Takiguchi takes readers to less crowded destinations around the mainland, you might also catch him out and about recording Speakin’ Japanese lesson videos for Instagram.