Vikingess Voyages: Cave

Showing posts with label Cave. Show all posts

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Sightseeing in Saitama: The Hundred Caves of Yoshimi (吉見百穴)

Anette 10:04:00 PM

Saitama is one of the surrounding prefectures of Tokyo, and the area has a rich history with many remarkable places ideal for sightseeing. Right north of the more well-known town Kawagoe (known as "little Edo") you find an interesting historical site literarily called the "hundred holes of Yoshimi".

The hundred holes or caves of Yoshimi, "Yoshimi-Hyakuana" or "Yoshimi-Hyakketsu" in Japanese, is a cluster of none less than 219 graves which are thought to be dating back to around the 6th/7th century. After having been rediscovered in 1887 the Yoshimi caves were designated as a National Historic Site in 1923, and the Cappadocia-like landscape continues to attract both tourists and researchers from near and far.

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Japan

Sightseing in Izu: The Ryugu Sea Cave (竜宮窟)

Anette 11:12:00 PM

Entrance to Ryugu Sea Cave by the roadside

In the southern part of Japan's Izu peninsula you can find white beaches and great places for water activities such as snorkeling and surfing. But there are also interesting areas to visit if you prefer activities where you can keep out of the water, such hiking or cave exploring. On my reason trip to Izu we stopped by some beautiful caves, and among them was the Ryugu Sea Cave. Here is some tourist information about the sea caves in the area provided by Shizuoka Prefecture's Shimoda city.

"Submarine volcanic landforms became uplifted in the process of the collision between the Izu block and Honshu across several million years. The landforms exposed due to upliftment then underwent erosion by wave action, and the weaker sections were washed away quickly. This process created sea caves. Subsequently, as the erosion expanded and the cave grew bigger, the roof partially fell off, creating this large open topped cave. From the watch point above the Ryugu Sea Cave, it can clearly be seen how erosion proceeded in two directions. This appears like the shape of a heart, and you can probably imagine how this sea cave looked like in ancient times before erosion brought it to its current shape. You can also enjoy different appearances of the cave depending on the direction of the sunlight or high and low tides."

On the way into the cave

Here is more information, also taken from Shimoda city's tourist information:

The structures of Ryugu Sea Cave can be observed through a gaping hole, which is about 40 meters in diameter. At the cliff, the strata of subaqueous fallout ash and volcaniclastic flow are observed.

The waves eroded the weak parts of the strata, and formed the cave that divided into two directions. Eventually the cave ceiling became unstable, and collapsed and this skylight was formed."

From inside the cave it is hard to notice anything special about the formation of the cave, but if you take a walk around the outside of the cave you can find a small path that takes you around to the top of the cave. Perhaps you can see a familiar shape in the picture below? The Ryugu Sea Cave is actually famous for its "heart" shape, and is especially popular among couples.

Ryugu Sea Cave is shaped like a heart if you look at it from above

Right next to the Ryugu Sea Cave there is also a small beach where you can try sand skiing:

"Sandback for skiing: A steep (about 30 degree) sandbank with a width of 100 meters, formed and maintained by upward migration of sand particles because of strong winds. You can enjoy skiing on its slope and may be charmed by the beautiful structures of submarine volcanoes around here.

There is a habitat of crinum lilies along the trail to the sandbank. The plants are designated as a natural monument of Shizuoka Prefecture and you can find their blooms during summer to autumn every year."

Slope for sand skiing

We visited in late November so it wasn't exactly the best temperature to try out sand skiing. Perhaps next time!

Basic information

Name of Place	Ryugu Sea Cave (竜宮窟）
Address	〒415-0029 静岡県下田市田牛 Touji, Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture 415-0029
Access	By car
Parking	10 cars
Homepage	http://www2.shimoda-city.info/shimoda/

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Thank you for reading! Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below
Anette

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

South-East Asia Trip 2012

Day-trips from Kuala Lumpur: The Batu Caves

Anette 9:39:00 AM

Our second day in Kuala Lumpur we decided to go and check out the famous Batu Caves situated just outside the city. The caves themselves are believed to be around 400 million years old, but it was in 1890 the caves got the first consecrated statue. Nowadays the caves are probably most known for the 42,7 meter high golden statue of the Hindu deity Murugan, in fact this is the worlds largest statue of this god.

Entrance to the Batu Caves, with the characteristic golden statue in front

It was cheap to get to the caves; only 2 Ringgit one way! The ride was fast too, so we ended up getting there a lot earlier than planned. Apparently they had just had a festival there, and the place looked quite deserted and dirty.. Not a good first impression. It doesn’t cost anything to enter the Batu cave, which actually might be a bad thing since the place looks like it would need some founding to put it back in shape. The place is filled with monkeys, and one of them approached Yuma and me probably trying to steal our non-existing food.

Monkeys by the temple entrance

A hungry (?) monkey taking a bite of my dress

If you want to go into the caves you better be aware that it is pretty steep, and climbing 272 steps in the heat can be tough.

Entrance to the main cave

Stairs to the cave

There are two caves: one of them is free, and has some statues and stuff inside it, and the other one is a dark cave where you pay for a guide to go in with you. Of course the one where you pay is nice and tidy, while the one where is free seem to have some potential but right now it is not really interesting in itself; it is dirty and it doesn’t really smell that good. Too bad, because it is an impressive cave..

The clean and tidy cave, where you can pay for a guided tour.

Right now the big statue in front of the temple is really the biggest reason to visit the Batu caves, but besides that it is not too interesting. But at least it is is cheap to get there, which means that as long as you have some time to spare it doesn't cost too much to drop by. Hopefully something will be done in the future to make sure the place can become more worthwhile to visit. For now all they have is donations from the visitors, so it is not strange that it’s potential hasn’t been reached. Here are some pictures of the free cave:

Some statues inside the Batu Caves

Overview of the cave

Some statues on the roof of a small temple in Batu Caves

Batu caves

A lady praying inside Batu caves

Some more details from the cave

Exiting the Batu caves, with a view towards Kuala Lumpur

Be aware of steep stairs..

After our visit to the caves we went back to Kuala Lumpur. There was not really anything left in the city we wanted to see, so we spent the rest of the day in the station watching a movie and just hanging around.

Kuala Lumpur has been an interesting destination with some interesting sights and not to mention the huge variety in people living here. But all in all I have to say that if you’re not too interested in shopping there really isn’t that much to do in Kuala Lumpur: I believe you can see it all in just one day if you are effective.