What other travelers are saying about Hida Great Limestone Cave (Hida Daishonyudo)
Interesting place to visit if you haven't seen a limestone cave. Just take a bus from Takayama and back. There is a free shuttle bus that brings you from the bus stop to the cave entrance as well. 1hr to 1hr 15mins time spent at the cave is sufficient. Quite an easy walk inside but there are short steep paths and some steps. Not suitable for wheelchair users or baby strollers.
Visited in November. Interesting walk starting with a small museum and then you enter into the caves and walk all the way up to the top. The routes are well signposted and there are railings along the way for you to support yourself with some intermediate exit points if you don't feel like going all the way up. There's a cute Shinto shrine at the top with a bell you can ring to reward you for your troubles. The journey back down is in a sheltered walkway outside the cave and there were some beautiful views here (interestingly I only took pictures outside the cave!). It was not the most exciting activity but an interesting and different sight to explore a different environment. There are also some shops by the car park selling food and drink and ice cream.
It was a nice visit even with the colder temperatures! The trip through the caves took us about half an hour. It's organized really well and the path through the caves was easy to follow. Some restaurants are also outside. If you find yourself in the area I would say it's worth the visit. We went on a weekend around 1530 and it wasn't busy at all.
We dropped into the Hida Great Limestone cave more out of curiosity, but for 1000 yen it was definitely worth it! It was well maintained with paths and handrails throughout, waterfalls flowing within it, and backlighting to all of its features. Strangely no one else got off our bus to see it. Definitely worth a visit if you have a 2 day unlimited Takayama hop on hop off bus ticket.
It is fine but not great for old aged group. Ceiling height is short and path is very congested.
If you have been to Akiyoshido cave in Yamanashi, then Hida cave is not at all great compared to that.
