Kyusendo

The mood is subterranean adventure!
Experience the mystery of KYUUSUNDO in person!

Kusendo" along the Kuma River was damaged by the torrential rain disaster in southern Kumamoto in July 2020. It was restored and reopened for business in April 2022. Kusendo is approximately 5 km long, the second longest cave in western Japan, the third longest in Japan, and one of the largest on the main island of Kyushu. Let's take a walk in the underground limestone cave.

Easy General Course
Underground Walking Exploration Course

KYUUSUDO was discovered in 1973. It was discovered by the Academic Exploration Department of Ehime University. Of the approximately 1,600m length of the first main cave, approximately 500 to 600m is open to the public, and there are two tour courses. The "General Course" takes about 30 minutes from the starting point at the cave mouth to the "3 Waterfalls" and back. Visitors can freely explore the caves without a guide.
The "Exploration Course" goes further from the middle of the "General Course" to the bottom of the earth at a depth of 200 meters. The "8 Waterfalls" course takes you to the mysterious stalactites in the shape of icicles. Here, visitors can rent boots and helmets with cap lights, and a guide will accompany them. The tour takes about 50 minutes and is suitable for elementary school students and older.
On the day of our visit, the water flowing through the cave was swollen due to the rain until the day before in the "Exploration Course. We could only experience the "general course," but Ms. Masami Otsuki of the Kuma Village Forestry Cooperative, which operates the cave, guided us through the course. Now, let's enter the world of subterranean formations woven by 300 million years of history!

On the day of our visit, the water flowing through the cave was swollen due to the rain until the day before in the "Exploration Course. We could only experience the "general course," but Ms. Masami Otsuki of the Kuma Village Forestry Cooperative, which operates the cave, guided us through the course. Now, let's enter the world of subterranean formations woven by 300 million years of history!

Continuously ticking away 300 million years
Are stalactites a mass of personality?

Since the first branch cave of Kusendo begins at the bottom of the Kuma River, the entrance to the sightseeing limestone cave is reached through a tunnel. Even at the entrance of the tunnel, there is a cool breeze blowing inside the cave. The temperature inside the cave is 16 degrees Celsius throughout the year. The height of the cave at the start of the tour is about 70 meters, and it is said to be the vertical hole that led the Academic Exploration Department of Ehime University to discover the limestone cave. Bats, the "residents" of the cave, also greet visitors as soon as they arrive.
As we proceeded deeper into the cave, we observed the subterranean formations of the limestone caves. The limestone layers that were under the sea 300 million years ago were uplifted, and the water seeping from the boundary of the limestone layers gradually eroded the surface of the rocks," said Otsuki. The underground water flow through the cave descends a steep slope and still flows into the Kuma River.

In the eroded caves, trace amounts of calcium in the limestone left behind as calcium carbonate crystals on the cave walls and floor, which is called "flowstone. This sounds simple, but it took tens of thousands of years to reach this level. The flowstone shows various shapes in the cave.
Other unique features include potholes carved by underground water currents, natural bridges accidentally created by peeling bedrock, cave coral, flowstone, heligite and heligmite protruding like twigs from the surface of icicle stones, limestone, and domed homate stalagmites. By the way, "helictite" means "twist" in Greek. Heligmite is also said to be made up of calcite crystals that have shifted and overlapped each other. The stalactites are still growing and changing their shapes," he said. When the stalactites in front of us change their shapes...will there be human beings there thousands or tens of thousands of years from now?

Surprisingly sweaty workout?
Facilities will be further enhanced in 2023

Even on the general course, there are more ups and downs in the limestone caves than one might expect, and there are several places where you have to climb stairs. Therefore, even if you walk slowly, before you know it, you will start to sweat a little (according to a report in September). I wondered if this was the reason why I was sweating when I read online that it was cooler than I had expected. In winter, I might take off my jacket to go around the cave.
Once again, we enter the ground world through the entrance tunnel. It is strange that the light from outdoors seems so fresh. This time I took the "General Course," but I would like to try the "Exploration Course," which goes 200 meters underground. The space of the limestone caves is fantastic and healing.
Now, the recovery from the torrential rain disaster is not limited to the KYUUSEN-DO tour facilities. Ancillary facilities have also been renovated. The restaurant "Koseitei" was quick to provide boxed lunches and other dishes for the restoration workers. We recommend the "Kara-Age Set Meal" for 900 yen. Other facilities include a café and bakery store in the Morino Kabo, a store specializing in forestry and outdoor goods, and an antenna store for local products in the Shinrin Center.
In addition, KYUUSUNDO Vacation Village is aiming to reopen in the spring of 2023. Lodges, log cabins, and glamping facilities are scheduled to be completed. Kwuizundo is likely to become even more attractive.

spherical spring cave