A world of mystical beauty created over millions of years, Abukuma Cave is said to have the greatest variety and the largest number of stalactites in the whole of Asia. It takes about an hour to explore the inner world of the cave and the terrain is easy to navigate on foot.
Abukuma Cave is a limestone cave that was discovered in 1969. Inside, visitors can walk the 600-meter-long path to explore and view the beautiful cave formations. Visitors can’t help but be impressed by the beauty of these natural creations formed over the course of 80 million years. The largest hall in the cave, called Takine Goten (Takine Hall), and Tsuki no Sekai (The Moon World), is illuminated with dramatic stage lighting and is particularly impressive.
Also not to be missed are the rare cave formations called boxwork, you can identify them by their unique shape; thin blades of minerals coming off the walls and ceilings forming a honeycomb or box-like pattern. Abukuma Cave is the only cave in Japan with boxwork that is open to the public. Another notable stop along the cave path is the Christmas Tree and Silver Frost; both are impressive stalagmites that resemble festive holiday trees. The Christmas Tree is over two meters tall and said to be the largest example in all of Asia.
There is an additional thrilling adventure course; experience crawling through narrow passages and climbing a ladder to spectacular views over the cave! This 120-meter-long course runs parallel to the main passage, but please note that visitors may have to crawl on their hands and knees at times.
When you have finished exploring the mysterious depths and come back to the surface you can find plenty of restaurants and souvenir shops. Visit from mid-June to July to see the neighbouring hillside covered in 50,000 lavender plants.
| Website | https://abukumado.com/en/ |
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| Contact | Abukuma Cave Administration Office (+81) 247-78-2125 |
| Best Season | All Year |
| Opening Hours | Apr.01–Jun.22: 8:30am–5:00pm | Jun.23–Sep.30: 8:30am–5:30pm | Oct.01–Nov.15: 8:30am–5:00pm | Nov.16–Mar.06: 8:30am–4:30pm | Mar.07–Mar.31: 8:30am–5:00pm |
| Parking | Free. Disabled Parking Available |
| Entrance Fee | Adults: 1,200 yen | 13 - 15 years old: 800 yen | 7 - 12 years old: 600 yen | Adventure course is available for an extra 200 yen. |
| Related info | Multi-purpose accessible toilet available. |
| Access | 1 Higashikamayama, Sugaya, Takine-Machi, Tamura City, Fukushima Pref. View directions |
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| Getting there | By Car: 20 min from Ono I.C. exit off the Ban-etsu Expressway. After exiting the Ban-etsu Expressway, take Route 349, then Prefectural Route 36, before passing onto Prefectural Route 19. Then turn right after 7-Eleven. By Train: Approx. 10 min from Kanmata Station on the Ban-etsu East Line. Useful Links |
A wonderful family owned and operated small business that sell unique ultraman and kaijyu stylized bread and cookies.The interior is decorated with Ultraman related memorabilia. This is a family owned and operated small business, and the creativity of the (now adult) kids of the family shines through in the various Ultraman and Kaijyu related breads and cookies!Each one is absolutely delicious.©円谷プロ
Designated a historic site by Fukushima City, Yorinji Temple is famous not only as a cherry blossom spot but for its abundance of flowers. It’s said there are over 20,000 anabells and 5,000 hydrangeas, making it a popular place to visit during its blooming season (typically mid-June to early July).The purification well here is full of beautiful flowers from the area and watched over by small o-jizo-san - stone statues of a Buddhist deity said to protect children. Larger statues also dot the grounds of the temple, wearing traditional red caps and bibs; these are usually gifts offered by locals as a way of showing respect.There is a cafe on the grounds which sells gluten-free pizza made on site.A trip to the south of Fukushima City pairs well with seeing the Tired Gundam, a short five minute drive away.
In 1801, Matsudaira Sadanobu, the twelfth Lord of Shirakawa, constructed a recreational area which was to be opened to anybody - regardless of status or family background. This recreational area turned into Nanko Park, which is considered to be the Japan's oldest public park. There are Yoshino cherry blossoms (about 800 trees), azaleas, pine trees, and maple trees at the edge of lake. You can enjoy seasonal scenery such as cherry blossoms in spring, fresh green leaves in early summer, autumn colors, and winter scenery with the beautiful contrast of the Nasu Mountains. The park contains Nanko Shrine, where Sadanobu is enshrined as a deity. Next to Nanko Shrine stands the beautiful Japanese gardens Suirakuen. At Suirakuen, visitors can try traditional Japanese tea served in a tea room, which boasts a spectacular view of the gardens. There are a number of shops, cafés, and restaurants along the edge of Lake Nanko. One of the local specialities to look out for is nanko dango, which are sticky rice balls on a skewer, served with different toppings.
Newly opened in 2022, Michi-no-Eki Fukushima (道の駅ふくしま）is a great place to buy local produce, souvenirs, and eat delicious Fukushima foods! Or even just to pause for a break along your road trip.It is located near the Fukushima Fruit line, so you’ll find a good assortment of delicious fresh fruit on display. You can also go fruit-picking to the nearby orchards using the rental bicycles available.Click here for more information on fruit picking in Fukushima!There is a dog park and an indoor play area for children called Momo Rabi Kids Park, which has many cute wooden toys and structures for children to play at as well as an indoor sandpit.We recommend trying the unusual ice-cream flavors at ‘yukiusagi’, a sweets shop that sells delicious parfaits and desserts using local produce. They sell rice-flavored ice-cream, as well as a special flavor called “Fukushima’s Sky Milk”（ふくしまの空ミルク）, which has a salty milk flavor!
Mt. Adatara is actually made up of multiple active volcanoes that form a broad mountain. It last erupted in 1996. Poems in the book Chieko-sho by Kotaro Takamura (1883-1956) helped make the mountain famous.The summit of Mt. Adatara stands at an altitude of 1700 m, stretching about 9 kilometers in a north-to-south direction. Views of Mt. Adatara are lovely in and of themselves, but the views that visitors have of the surrounding area once they reach the summit are breathtaking. Chosen as one of Japan’s top 100 mountains, as well as one of the top 100 mountains for flowers, a view spot at an altitude of 1300 m can be accessed by gondola lift. This means that it is relatively easy to climb even for beginners.On summer evenings, a light-up event inspired by the Milky Way and the flowers of Mt. Adatara is held, gracing those scaling the mountain by a gondola lift with a spectacular view. In autumn, visitors are afforded a stunning view of autumn leaves making it a popular place for scenic momiji-gari (autumn leaf viewing).Kurogane-goya Mountain Lodge, which closed in August 2023, was a rest stop for visitors and served as lodging for longer hikes. The lodge’s public hot spring facility used naturally-sourced, cloudy hot spring water. The lodge is being torn down in 2025 and will be rebuilt anew for roughly a 2028 re-open.
In spring, this 150-year-old weeping cherry tree looks so different from one hour to the next. Viewed during the day, it is framed against a backdrop of snow-topped Azuma mountains. During the cherry blossom viewing season, Nakajima Jizozakura is lit up at night, its reflection glittering enchantingly on the surface of surrounding rice paddies.
Miharu is a small town in central Fukushima Prefecture. The town’s name means “three springs” and it is easy to see how it got such a name. With cherry, plum, and peach trees blossoming in spectacular displays every spring, it is almost as if spring has tripled! But the most famous of the trees in Miharu is the Miharu Takizakura tree, which is a nationally recognized Natural Monument.Over ten centuries old, the beautiful Miharu Takizakura is a flowering cherry tree that spreads out in all directions and makes for a breathtaking vista. The cascading blankets of blossoms are how this tree got the name takizakura, or “waterfall cherry tree.” It is even one of the “three great cherry trees” of Japan (along with Usuzumizakura in Gifu and the Jindaizakura in Yamanashi Prefecture).Miharu Takizakura sits in a sakura hollow in order to protect it from the elements while providing excellent drainage. The heavy boughs of the tree are supported by wooden beams and lend to its elegant form. The Miharu Takizakura begins blooming from mid-April. During the day the sight is whimsical, but visit in the evening and you’ll be treated to an almost haunting beauty as the tree is illuminated.Aside from this huge cherry tree (over 12 meters tall and 18 to 22 meters in spread), the area is also blessed with various wildflowers, including cherry and rapeseed flowers. But, of course, the Miharu Takizakura is what the annual 200,000 visitors are there to see. The view from the base of the sakura is considered to be the most beautiful and the Miharu Takizakura often ranks as the best sakura tree in all of Japan.
Tucked away in a cedar grove in Tanagura Town, the moss-covered rocks and statues of Isshikikanei Shrine make you feel like you’ve stepped into a Ghibli movie.The shrine is well-known in the area for its two koma-inu (lion statue) carvings. These were carved in 1934 by Kobayashi Wahei, a famous stonemason from the region responsible for dozens of statues on shrine grounds, especially in his birthplace of nearby Ishikawa Town. One of them is known as one of Kobayashi’s ‘Great Three Lion Statues’.