Hiraodai is one of Japan's three greatest karst plateaus, and designated as a natural monument, a national park and a prefectural natural park.
   This area dotted with limestone, 300 to 700 meters above sea level, 6 kilometers long north to south, and 2 kilometers wide east to west, is also popular as a trekking course, abundant with precious natural features, including extraordinarily shaped rocks, such as the Lion Rock and the kissing rocks, and a "high-spirit tree" growing from limestone.
   Various ways of enjoying this area await you: Hiraodai Countryside Park, where you can try soba-making, pottery-making, etc.; sightseeing caves, such as the Senbutsu limestone cave, the Mejirodo cave, and the Ojikado cave; and the "caving experience," whereby you can experience natural caves as they are.