Yoshimi Hundred Caves, Cave tomb complex in Yoshimi, Japan
Yoshimi Hundred Caves is a complex of burial caves carved into tuff rock faces near Yoshimi in Japan, made up of 219 individual tomb chambers. Each chamber has a narrow entrance passage leading to a larger main room containing stone platforms.
The chambers were created between the late sixth and late seventh centuries, when local clans buried their dead here during the final phase of the Kofun period. Families used the same rooms over several generations, adding further burials onto the platforms.
The chambers carry Japanese names based on their shape or position, and many are accessible by wooden walkways and stairs. Visitors can enter the largest rooms and see the carved walls and stone platforms where the deceased once rested.
The site opens daily from 8:30 to 17:00, and admission costs 300 yen for adults and 200 yen for elementary students. The pathways and stairs can be steep, and some chambers have little light, so sturdy shoes are recommended.
Colonies of luminous moss grow on the cave walls, protected as a Natural Monument of Japan, and emit a green glow in darkness. This phenomenon attracts visitors and shows how nature reclaims human-made space.
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