Nagasaki: Visitors Flock to Limestone Caves to Beat Lingering Heat; Caves Stay at a Cool 15 C Throughout Year

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:05 JST, September 29, 2024

SAIKAI, Nagasaki — Even when the lingering summer heat causes the temperature outside to exceed 30 C, the temperature inside the Nanatsugama limestone caves in Saikai, Nagasaki Prefecture, stays around 15 C throughout the year.

Inside the 320-meter-long caves, visitors were seen enjoying the natural coolness in the caves even in September while looking at the fantastic rock surfaces.

The caves, which were surveyed in 1928 and designated as a national natural treasure in 1936, are believed to have been formed by upheaval from the sea floor about 30 million years ago.

Although the caves are smaller than the Akiyoshido limestone caves in Yamaguchi Prefecture, they are considered valuable from an academic perspective.

Admission is ¥200 for elementary school students, ¥400 for junior high school students and ¥800 for high school students and older.