Sandanbeki Cave — Attraction in Shirahama

At ¥1300 per person (adult), a 10 min tour through a small and interesting - but ultimately forgettable - cave isn't really worth the price of admission. It's too bad, because there is a lot of potential beauty in the natural formations and constructed exhibits ruined by the tourist-trappy feeling and lack of explanation.

You take an elevator down a dozen stories to walk along a short stone trail, with shops selling tourist trappy knick-knacks both above and below, in addition to staff taking your photo at several points to sell it back to you at the end.

Inside the caves are small exhibits about supposed pirates that used the caves (though everything was reconstructed), a shrine (with paid incense, prayer cards, etc.), The Japanese Navy, and the rock formations. The shrine was well set-up and looked very photogenic. However, it all felt a bit unfocused, and I was left wondering exactly what the story or message of these caves really were. This might exist in Japanese, as most exhibits had additional text that was not translated. I think the attraction would benefit from creating a more coherent story from the exhibits they've chosen to display, using timelines or other logical means to give structure to the otherwise random things set up in the cave. This was compounded by the staff's choice of uniform with bright Hawaiian shirts and the random souvenirs to be purchased, giving the whole experience an inauthentic, exploitative feeling.

We read all of the exhibits and observations at a relaxed pace, yet still completed the tour of the caves in less than ten minutes. I don't think such a short time in such an unfocused attraction justifies a steep cost; I would have been satisfied with the cave attraction as-is for ¥650,...

The cave is located directly below the Sandanbeki Rocks Cliff and is said to have been a hiding place for the Kumano pirates, during the Heian period (794–1185).

Pay the fee on the ground level and then take the elevator to the cave 36m underground, you can view all the caves.

Admission Fee is ¥1,500 but there are many attractions such as Benzaiten (god of wealth) and Kumano Navy Guardhouse in the sea cave created by wave erosion, and go around the mysterious cave for about 200m by relying on the light of indirect lighting such as lanterns. In addition, the powerful sight of rough waves rushing inside the cave is...

A great place to visit if you are in the area. There is car parking located nearby although the car park can get busy. The entrance is located on top of the cliff and this is where you can buy your ticket. You then go down an elevator into the actual caves themselves. The caves are very interesting and there are several boards up that give you information on the history of the caves. The views of the cliffs from the caves is very nice. It would probably take about 30 minutes to get around the caves if you are taking it slow and taking pictures. Overall, a great place to pop in and visit if you are...