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.

Manai Falls in Takachiho.

There are two ways to get to Takachiho, one is by bus, the other is by car. However, for the convenience of traveling, as well as saving time, I suggest you should go by car to here. It takes about 1 hour 30 minutes to travel from Kumamoto city center to Takachiho.

The address of the parking lot when coming to Takachiho: https://maps.app.goo.gl/1TiAkjVbREpGGpQx5

Parking fee is also very cheap, only 300 JPY/day.

Map of famous tourist attractions in Miyazaki, traveling by car.

After exiting the parking lot, you will see a signpost walking to visit the shooting points of Takachiho. However, don't rush to follow it, but take photos at Shinbashi Bridge before following the instructions.

The picture I took while standing on Shinbashi Bridge.
Closer view of the river.

The autumn leaves here are also very beautiful, everyone remember don't miss this shooting point before walking to the next places.

Next, I followed the signs to Manai Falls, my main shooting point today.

The walking distance is about 1km, on the way there are also many beautiful places to stop and take pictures, so the feeling of walking is not too tired.

Three bridges in one frame 😀

The whole space here is covered in a green color, feeling very cool and pleasant.

The characteristic point that you can easily see when coming to Takachiho - the boats on the cool blue water.

And after about 30 minutes of walking and taking pictures, I came to Manai Falls, the symbol of Takachiho Gorge. This waterfall is about 17 meters high, in the top 100 most beautiful waterfalls in Japan.

According to legend, Manai Falls was created by the god Amenomuraka, who brought water to this land when it was short of 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 closer to Manai Falls from the Gokase River.

However, boat tickets here are sold out very early, so if you want to experience this service, you should go early or buy tickets online before your trip. Because I didn't know beforehand, I didn't book tickets online in advance, and missed this experience.

Tickets are sold from 8:30 am, and only about 60 tickets are sold. The day I went (July 30, 2024), the tickets were sold out at 10:50 am.

You can buy tickets online at "Takachiho Town Tourism Association website" by following this Link: Takachiho Gorge Boat Reservation Site|Takachiho Town Tourism Association (eipro.jp)

Because I couldn't go down to row a boat to take pictures, I also took pictures with Manai Falls from above 😀 Let's see some pictures I took here:

Near here, there is also an area for people to "pray for love", or send their wishes to the gods.

You can buy heart-shaped pieces of wood available here, then write your wish on it and tie it back, sending it to the gods.

Many wishes have been sent...
...But this wish "England win Euro" could not come true (until 2024) 😀

And finally, I went up a bridge to take pictures of Manai Falls from the opposite direction. This bridge is located right next to Takachiho Aquarium, where you can take a panoramic photo of Manai Falls in a very convenient location. You can see the Google map address at HERE.

Manai Falls is taken from the opposite side.

The rays of the sun shining down on the cliffs, encountering the water flowing down from the falls, create beautiful rainbow streaks.

The bigger the sun, the clearer the rainbow will be.

If you want to experience more about the food in Takachiho, there is a Somen restaurant (bamboo tube noodle) here, which attracts quite a lot of tourists. There are also many other seafood dishes that you can try. The restaurant's address is here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/V8Su8oenwB9mKtRx9

And my article about Takachiho ends here. Miyazaki is also the 3rd province in my series of articles about Kyushu region, 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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