Takachiho Gorge, located in Miyazaki Prefecture, in the southeastern part of Kyushu, Japan. It was formed more than 100,000 years ago, after many eruptions of Mount Aso. This place is also known as the origin of Japan in ancient myths. And today, let's explore Takachiho, a land of majestic natural beauty, containing many unique myths and legends.
There are two ways to get to Takachiho, one is by bus, the other is by car. However, for convenience and to save time, I suggest you go by car. It takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes to travel from Kumamoto city center to Takachiho.
Car parking address when arriving in Takachiho: https://maps.app.goo.gl/1TiAkjVbREpGGpQx5
Parking fee is also very cheap, only 300 JPY / day.
After exiting the parking lot, you will see a sign indicating a walking tour of Takachiho's photo spots. However, don't follow it right away, but take a photo at Shinbashi Bridge before following the sign.
The yellow leaf season here is also very beautiful, everyone remember not to miss this photo spot before walking to the next locations.
Next, I followed the signs to Manai waterfall, my main photo spot today.
The walking distance is about 1km, along the way there are many beautiful places to stop and take pictures, so the walking feeling is not too tiring.
The entire space here is covered in a deep green color, feeling very cool and pleasant.
And after about 30 minutes of walking and taking pictures, I arrived at Manai Waterfall, the symbol of Takachiho Gorge. This waterfall is about 17 meters high, ranked in the top 100 most beautiful waterfalls in Japan.
According to legend, Manai Falls was created by the god Amenomuraka, who brought water to the land when it was lacking water. This makes Manai Falls not only a natural wonder but also an important part of the culture and spirituality of the local people.
You can also rent a boat to experience Manai Falls closer from the Gokase River.
However, the boat rental tickets here sell out very early, so if you want to experience this service, you should go early or buy tickets online before the trip. Because I did not research in advance, I did not book tickets online in advance, and missed this experience.
Tickets go on sale from 8:30am, and only about 60 tickets are sold. On the day I went (July 30, 2024), the tickets were sold out by 10:50am.
You can buy tickets online at “Takachiho Town Tourism Association website” via this link: Takachiho Gorge Boat Reservation Site|Takachiho Town Tourism Association (eipro.jp)
Since I couldn't go down to take pictures by boat, I took pictures of Manai Falls from above 😀 Let's see some pictures I took here:
Nearby there is also an area for people to "pray for love", or send their wishes to the gods.
You can buy heart-shaped wooden pieces available here, then write your wishes on them and tie them up, sending them to the gods.
And finally, I went up a bridge to take a picture of Manai Falls from the opposite direction. This bridge is right next to Takachiho Aquarium, where you can take a picture of the whole Manai Falls from a very convenient position. You can see the Google map address at HERE.
The sunlight shines down on the cliff, meets the water flowing down from the waterfall, creating beautiful rainbow streaks of light.
The brighter the sun, the clearer the rainbow will be.
If you want to experience more about the food in Takachiho, there is a Somen (bamboo noodle soup) restaurant here, which attracts quite a lot of tourists. There are also many other seafood dishes that you can try. The restaurant address here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/V8Su8oenwB9mKtRx9
And that concludes my article about Takachiho. Miyazaki is also the third prefecture in my series about the Kyushu region of Japan. You can review my articles about Fukuoka and Kumamoto and look forward to my next articles about Kyushu. Thank you for reading to the end of the article.
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