12 May 2024

A day exploring Hagi – ancient pottery and limestone caves

Being greeted by rain this morning, we showed that when life gives you rain, bring an umbrella. So it was onto the Zodiacs, and off we went to explore Hagi.

The first stop was the Yoshika Taibi Memorial Museum and workshop. We were able to learn the story of the introduction of Hagi-ware (or Hagi yaki) pottery from Korea, and the transformation from daily use items to art by Yoshika Taibi, the founder of this pottery business. On our tour, we saw his works in the museum and the potters at their wheels. Finally, in the shop, many of us took the opportunity to support the Japanese economy!

It was then to the Samurai quarter to visit Kikuya Residence, the home of a wealthy merchant from the Edo Period. This traditional house and garden, full of artefacts from the time, gave a glimpse of what life was like for a close friend and supporter of the local Daimyo, or lord. Despite the liquid sunshine, we all enjoyed the walking tour of the district, passing many other historic homes and stopping into shops to sample the local summer orange juice and ice cream.

Many of us chose to stay ashore with our guide, Hide-san, to have lunch at one of the restaurants in the local fish market.

In the afternoon, we headed out of Hagi, passing the orange orchards, a feature of the region and out into the countryside where rice paddies were planted and flooded. Each precious inch of space utilised to its best for water ditches, pathways, gardens and houses gathered in compounds, in stark contrast to the condensed urban cities - hillsides cloaked in bamboo, mixed broadleaf forest and commercial evergreen forests of cedar and camphor.

As we reached the Akiyoshidai Plateau, the sterile karst limestone landscape was heightened by the lack of vegetation through selective burning. Arriving at the upper entrance, we headed into the ‘time tunnel’, descending through the theme park-style art and tunnel into the natural world of the limestone caves.  Each feature was highlighted by lights, along with the inclusion of recorded messages giving the name of the limestone feature or formation.

The cavernous nature of the underground system became apparent as we joined the main river, where terraces of creamy white limestone filled with water provided stunning reflections of the overhanging stalactites. Each treasure created by nature grew in scale and beauty as we descended the cave towards the exit, which is likewise cloaked by a loquat tree merging its roots and branches in a tangle of survival, surrounded by Japanese maple over the river which in the grey skies showed as azure blue.
It was then back on board as we headed to the next country on our journey, South Korea.

Images © C. Finch & J Rogers, Heritage Expeditions