Chapter 1079: Gyokusendo Cave (玉泉洞)

The Gyokusendo Cave (玉泉洞) is officially the 3rd limestone cave I have visited in Japan. The first time I went to a limestone cave was in Yamaguchi, then Ishigaki. And this marks my 3rd cave!! One of the first things you will see is this stone!

Then upon entering you will see this red and silver sign. You will get to take a photo holding an Okinawa sign for a small fee you can get a copy at the end of the trip.

Going down, I was instantly hit by the humidity. Apparently the cave stays at 21°C all year round.

The rocks were naturally formed over a period of 300,000 years.

Almost alien-like. A lot of rocks looked like funny shaped cactuses.

The cave wasn’t discovered until 1967 by a research group from the Ehime University. Which means it wasn’t that long ago!! A little over 50 years, so everything in this cave has been brewing for so long! The cave touring part of the cave is 890-meters long but the entire cave is approx 5000 metres long and the remaining areas are still under research.

The cave has massive stalagmites and stalactite…apparently it takes 3 years for them to grow 1mm and some are several metres long. And it is said that it grows faster here than other caves in Japan.

Some can look a little eerie, almost as if you can make out a face if you look too long.

Not only on the ceilings but also sprouting out from the ground. They said there are an estimate of over 1 million.

When you look up you can see that the ceilings are all covered in stalactites, some areas have sharp and thin looking stalactites all packed together. It looks very alien-like.

The red light makes it feel sort of dangerous. This area was called the ceiling of the spears.

Doesn’t look like earth does it? So cool!!

The path ways have a lot of metal bridges and stairs.

Over here I saw these stalactites that looked bubbly.

You get some curtains!! They reminded me of gelato ice cream.

Over here I saw this sign saying 初恋広場, Hatsukoi Hiroba, First Love Square.

It would be so cool if these were ice. I’d love to visit an ice cave one day!!

Another walk way. Sometimes cold water will drip from the ceiling.

This area has fossils. They found deer bones embedded in the rocks. It was quite surprising because I had imagined it would be insets or amphibians..or some sort of reptile or sea creature.

Compared to the other 2 caves I’ve visited in Japan, this one is very well lit.

I think the admission fee was 1700 yen for adults to visit all the attractions.

Mini waterfall with green lights.

So cool!! I want to explore move caves in the future.

The blue fountain. Over here I found the mysterious blue foundation. This was located in the middle point of the cave path. The water comes from the stalactite and accumulates here. And no the water isn’t glowing blue by itself, they’ve put blue lights under the water. Apparently sometimes there will be some wild eels or lobsters moving in the water, but sadly I didn’t see anything moving when I visited.

Almost like a mysterious pool.

The wooden plaque reads: みがわり觀音, Migawari Kanon who is Goddess of Mercy from Buddhism. Some stalactites and stalagmites resemble humans or animals, this one apparently resembled the Goddess of Mercy.

Some paths were wet so it’s always best to wear proper and comfy shoes.

The water here was lit up by blue lights. It does give a very mysterious vibe.

Over here was the 白銀のオーロラ, Shirogane no O-rora, Silver Aurora.

More green lit water! I like blue more.

ガジュマル並木, Gajumaru Namiki. Over here they had a pot collecting water just like in Sefa Utaki. My visit was definitely worth it and I had so much fun here. The cave is by far one of the best I’ve visited in Japan.

—Tofu