Tourists cool off in limestone cave in northeastern Japan

Many people are visiting a limestone cave in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, to escape from the scorching summer heat. "Abukuma Cave" in Tamura City is a natural limestone cave said to have been created over the period of 80 million years.

It draws many tourists in summer due to the inside temperature of around 15 degrees Celsius all year. About 600 meters of the cave, which has a total length of over 4 kilometers, is open to the public. An official said the number of visitors to the cave in July was up 10 percent compared to the same period last year due to intense heat. Up to 5,000 visitors per day are expected during the Bon holiday period.