One Day Trip in Takachiho 高千穂

21st September 2012

Went to Takachiho 高千穂 with colleagues on that day due to company holiday. We departed from Nakatsu early in the morning at 6.30am. To save on toll money, we decided to go on mountain route instead of highway. It was beautiful along the way.

We passed by Mt. Aso and we were near Daikanbo, so we stopped there. Daikanbo was greener than the last time I came. It was early in the morning, only a few bikers were there. After that, we continued our journey.

Daikanbo 大観峰

We passed by train cables by the roadside, so we stopped there to take photos. It was actually Tunnel Station where a tunnel was used to store Japanese alcohol 焼酎 barrels. According to the legend, the waterfall near the tunnel was the place where the descendent of the god descended.  

Tunnel Station in Miyazaki トンネルの駅 (a permanent storage area for alcohol barrels by Kaguro Shuzo Co. LTD 神楽酒造)

alcohol barrels inside the tunnel  (it maintains temperature at around 17 degree Celsius and 70% humidity all year long)

waterfall where the descendant of the god descended 天孫降臨の滝

After that, we went to Micinoeki 道の駅 for lunch. We were there to eat Chicken Nanbam チキン南蛮. A speciality of Miyazaki. One thing funny about this Chicken Nanbam, it was about one of my travel mates, Miki. When the first person asked her about this trip, she said 'no' because the question was "Miki, you want to go to Takachiho?". Then, the second person asked her, "Miki, you want to eat Chicken Nanbam?" Her answer was 'yes'. It was actually the same question, hahahah!

Statues of God of Miyazaki (in 道の駅)

After a very fulfilling lunch, we went to our main target place, the Takachiho Gorge 高千穂峡. It was a very beautiful natural attraction. According to Japan guide, the narrow gorge cliffs were formed by volcanic basalt from Aso Volcano. The cliff shape is interesting with entablature on the top and columnar shape below. It is special. Due to the typhoon a few days earlier and the water level was high, the boat renting services were cancelled, so we couldn't go near the cliffs to see the structures, a little bit disappointed. We were so looking forward to see the gorge in near distance.

Takachiho Gorge 高千穂峡 (the horizontal lines resemble dragon scales)

around Takachiho Gorge

Sturgeon (the fish that produces caviar) in a pond. One can buy fish feed near the pond with 100 yen per pack and feed the fishes.

Koi 鯉 in various colours

After that, we went to Takachiho shrine. There are a lot of old and tall cedar trees around the shrine compound. My colleagues hugged the trees, they said to 'receive' some energy from the trees. So, I did that too. Hahahah!

Takachiho shrine 高千穂神社

Then, we went to Amano Iwato Shrine 天岩戸神社. The main attraction was the Amano Yasukawara 天安河原. A place reputed to be the place where gods and goddesses met to discuss how to lure the Amaterasu out of hiding. (Amaterasu - a Shinto sun goddess who hid herself in a cave when she was outraged with her brother. So, the world was devoid of light. So, the other gods and goddesses gathered to lure her out. At the end, she was lured out of the cave to see what made the other gods and goddesses laughed so hard, mmmm, curiosity!)

Amano Iwato Shrine 天岩戸神社

around Amano Iwato Shrine

Along the way, we could see stacks of stones, according to my colleagues, this place is a power spot, people stacked the stones to pray about their desires. 

Amano Yasukawara 天安河原

stacks of stones (each stack represents a person prayers)

around Amano Yasukawara

flowers in Takachiho

Before leaving Takachiho, we had soft-cream in a shop which overlooked the Amano Yasukawara. It was beautiful. 

mix berries soft-cream

On the way back to Nakatsu, we passed by terraced rice field, it was nice looking with the different shades of green. Ah, no wonder people travelled to different places just to see the terraced rice field. It was very astonishing!

terraced rice field in Takachiho 高千穂の棚田

We did not follow the mountain route to go back home because the day was getting darker, it was not so safe, so we took highway. Ah, a very happy day with colleagues!

※ information coming from Japan guide.