Fauna and Flora of Akiyoshidai

Yamaguchi’s wildlife on a summer's day

Tristan Scholze Feb 01, 2019 - 1 min read

Grasses sing in the wind before a hillside covered in limestone pinnacles

A White-Tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum albistylum speciosum), one of the species of dragonfly here

A female Dryad (Miniois dryas) hides among some fallen brown grasses

Tiny wildflowers grow out of this rock along the path

A fringed pink (Dianthus superbus), known locally as nadeshiko—also the name of the women's national soccer team

A circumhorizontal arc above Akiyoshidai

A Blue Admiral (Kaniska canace), resting along the Ina River flowing out of Akiyoshi Cave

A damselfly (Calopteryx cornelia) perches on a new fern frond in the patchy forest light

Inside Akiyoshi Cave, bats gather on the vaulted ceiling; six species live here

A lone tree survives on this hill, dominated by grasses after centuries of seasonal burnings

A female Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle (Trypoxylus dichotomus) crawls along one of the many trails in the early evening

This colorful damselfly visited the inside of a restaurant near the bus center

Most visitors to Akiyoshidai Quasi-National Park come for the otherworld panoramas and underground adventures in this geologically fascinating karst landscape. But the park is also full of life. Hidden among the grasses singing in the wind are wildflowers, birds, dragonflies, butterflies and beetles. In a lower valley of the park, there’s a forest sheltering a small river filled with mosses, ferns, and beautiful damselflies. Follow the river into Akiyoshi Cave for another world below ground inhabited by bats and more. Here are just a few of the creatures and flowers you can see in a few hours’ visit in August.

秋吉台国定公園—Akiyoshidai Kokutei Kōen—Akiyoshidai Quasi-National Park
秋吉台—Akiyoshidai—Akiyoshidai Plateau
秋芳洞—Akiyoshidō—Akiyoshi Cave

Akiyoshidai is in the city of Mine, Yamaguchi Prefecture. Best visited by car, bus accessible by bus. The pedestrian thoroughfare that connects the entrance of Akiyoshi Cave to restaurants, shopping, parking and the bus center is a 40-minute bus ride (1,170 yen, 1 per hour) from the Shin-Yamaguchi Shinkansen station or a 60-minute bus ride (1,210 yen, 1 per 2 hours) from Yamaguchi Station in Yamaguchi City. From Mine Station, it’s a 25-minute bus ride (200 yen, 1 every 90 minutes).

Tristan Scholze @tristan.scholze

I'm also known as Faer Out. I love learning about people and nature. I've traveled around the world and throughout Japan, and I hope to continue seeing and experiencing the wonder of this planet as long as I live.Based in Japan for nearly two decades, I'm a Japan Travel expert for Fukuoka and Sag...