To fight those January blues we have been trip planning.

It is certain death for the savings, but for the life experience, totally worth it!

Before we depart Yamaguchi Prefecture in July, we have decided to check out some of its hot tourist destinations. The first on the list…Akiyoshidi Plateau and Cave.

We decided on a little walk on the Plateau first, and on arrival couldn’t believe our eyes. The whole place was blanketed in picture perfect snow! It was glorious and reminded me of the Yorkshire Moors.

So after warming up in a cafe with a view over the Plateau, and trying to get Kate with snowballs but all missing, we took off on a mini hike to a distant hill. Once there, we partook in classic snow-time activities, including a snowball fight and building the worlds creepiest snowman.

After the fun and a brief stop for lunch, we took off to the cave. The cave is Japan’s largest and longest limestone cave and is actually pretty impressive! I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting to be so wowed by it. It is large, atmospheric, and long. Visitors are taken on a 1km walking route through the cave, which is shown off by simple white lights.

On the way back to Shimonoseki after a thoroughly excellent day, we took a detour to one of Dan’s now infamous coffee shop finds. This one is one of his best yet…it was a small shed, about 3m in length and 1m wide with a coffee bar inside. The Barista was a cool looking chap, who was happy to help us with our requests. We all enjoyed very unusual and delicious coffee, in a shed by the side of a misty mountain. Pretty excellent.

So yet again a great day out was had with friends in #Yamaguchi!