Makido Cave

Little knownBarely documented in English. This is the kind of place the site exists for.

Researched and written by Hinato

Makidolimestone caveNiimiYosano Akikoreflecting pool

Okayama · Niimi

34.9893°N, 133.5788°E

A visit to Makido Cave is easy to underplan — bring more time, and less certainty about what you'll find, than you'd expect.

Makido is the opposite of the other Niimi cave: horizontal, about 450 metres long and up to 25 metres wide, opening into broad chambers rather than climbing through narrow ones. Its centrepiece is a still pool of clear water reflecting the formations above it, which is why the cave photographs better than caves generally do.

The name came from a poet. In 1929 Yosano Tekkan and Yosano Akiko visited what was then called Maki-no-ana, the cave of the maki trees, and Akiko renamed it Makido, cave full of wonders, writing a poem about it. The name stuck. The cave sits on a karst plateau above the Takahashi river with almost nothing else around it, and the drive up is through farmland that gives no hint of what is underneath.

What to know before you go

Access hours

8:30 AM – 5:00 PM (last entry 4:30 PM); may vary seasonally or for events

Closed: Open year-round — confirm before travelling, as the cave is occasionally closed for events

When to go

Year-round; summer for the cool interior

Fee

¥1,000 high school students and over | ¥800 junior high school | ¥500 elementary school | Free below elementary school

Time to allow

1 hour

Access route

Directions

Toyonaga Akaba 2276-2, Niimi City. By car from Niimi Station; hours may vary seasonally or for events. Admission ¥1,000 for high school students and over, ¥800 junior high school, ¥500 elementary school, free below that. The route is about 450 m and largely level, with a wet floor.

Local knowledge

**Level, unlike Ikura.** About 450 metres with no serious climb, which makes it the choice if stairs are a problem. The floor is still wet. **The pool is the thing.** A still sheet of clear water reflecting the chamber roof. Photographs need a steady hand rather than a flash; the lighting is dim and the reflection is what you are there for. **Yosano Akiko named it.** She visited in 1929 and renamed the cave from maki trees to wonders, in a pun that works in Japanese. Her poem is displayed at the entrance. **It is used for concerts and weddings.** The main chamber's acoustics and scale get borrowed for events, which occasionally changes the hours. Worth checking before a drive. **Nothing else is up here.** A karst plateau of farms and forest. Combine with Ikura Cave, which is nearby, or with the Takahashi river gorge.

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