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The sun rising over mountains above a sea of clouds, seen from Kunimigaoka in Takachiho

Things to see

Things to see in Miyazaki Prefecture

A gorge of basalt columns where the gods of Japanese myth once walked, a palm island ringed by rock ridges, a shrine in a sea cave, a samurai town and wild horses on a windy cape. Here are the places worth your time in Miyazaki.

Miyazaki city and around

The prefectural capital is a relaxed, palm-lined city on the Oyodo River, with the sea on one side and farmland on the other. Aoshima is 30 minutes south by train, and the ancient burial mounds of Saitobaru and the forests of Aya are inland.

The footbridge to Aoshima Island across ridged rock shelves at low tide Island

Aoshima Island & Shrine

A palm island ringed by rock ridges

A tiny island south of Miyazaki city, covered in subtropical palms, with a shrine in the middle and the wave-cut rock ridges of the Devil’s Washboard all around it.

Palm trees, shops and traffic along Tachibana-dori, the main street of Miyazaki city City

Miyazaki City

A palm-lined capital on the Pacific

The relaxed prefectural capital, with palm-lined avenues, Miyazaki Shrine, the haniwa figures of Heiwadai Park, a lively food and bar district and beaches nearby.

Yellow rape flowers in bloom on the plateau of the Saitobaru burial mounds Ancient site

Saitobaru Burial Mounds

Hundreds of ancient tombs

More than 300 burial mounds from the 3rd to 7th centuries spread across a plateau in Saito, with a fine archaeology museum and fields of flowers in spring.

The long Aya Teruha Suspension Bridge spanning a forested valley under low clouds Forest

Aya Teruha Suspension Bridge

A footbridge over a forest valley

A long, high pedestrian suspension bridge over a valley of evergreen laurel forest in Aya, one of the largest such forests left in Japan.

The Nichinan coast and the south

Route 220 follows the Pacific south from Aoshima past cliffs, rock shelves and palm trees. Along the way are Udo Jingu, the moai of Sun Messe Nichinan, the castle town of Obi and, at the southern tip, the wild horses of Cape Toi.

The vermilion main hall of Udo Jingu built inside a sea cave under an overhanging rock roof Shrine

Udo Jingu Shrine

A vermilion shrine in a sea cave

A vermilion shrine built inside a cave in the cliffs above the Pacific, where visitors throw lucky clay balls at a rock shaped like a turtle.

The white-walled Otemon gate of Obi Castle at the top of a stone-paved path among trees Castle town

Obi Castle Town

Samurai lanes and stone walls

A quiet castle town in the hills of Nichinan, with the stone walls and gate of Obi Castle, samurai houses, koi in the canals and a walking-and-eating coupon map.

Two Misaki horses on a grassy slope at Cape Toi with hazy hills behind Cape

Cape Toi

Wild horses on the southern tip

The southern tip of Miyazaki, where a herd of semi-wild Misaki horses grazes on grassy slopes above the Pacific, with a white lighthouse at the end of the cape.

Seven replica moai statues standing in a row on a lawn above the Pacific at Sun Messe Nichinan Park

Sun Messe Nichinan

Seven moai above the Pacific

A hillside park on the Nichinan coast with seven replica moai, made with the permission of Easter Island’s elders, looking out over the sea.

Takachiho and the mountains

Northern and western Miyazaki is mountain country. Takachiho, the setting of some of Japan’s oldest myths, sits above a deep basalt gorge, the coast at Hyuga has dramatic cliffs, and the Kirishima volcanoes rise in the far south-west.

Manai Falls dropping between basalt cliffs into the Gokase River at Takachiho Gorge Gorge

Takachiho Gorge

Basalt cliffs and Manai Falls

A narrow gorge of columnar basalt cut by the Gokase River, where Manai Falls drops into a green pool and you can row a small boat beneath the cliffs.

The wooden worship hall of West Amano Iwato Shrine seen through a gateway with lanterns Shrine

Amano Iwato Shrine

The cave of the sun goddess

The Takachiho shrine facing the cave where the sun goddess Amaterasu is said to have hidden, with the stone-filled cave of Amanoyasukawara nearby.

Sunlight on the sea beside dark rocky headlands and inlets on the Hyuga coast Coast

Cross Sea & Umagase, Hyuga

Cliffs and a cross in the sea

Dramatic columnar cliffs on the Hyuga coast, where inlets in the rock form the shape of a cross when seen from the viewpoint above.

A path and a wooden Ebino Plateau sign post among pines below volcanic peaks Volcanic plateau

Ebino Plateau

Crater lakes in the Kirishima range

A high plateau in the Kirishima volcanoes, with crater lakes, walking trails and hot springs; some trails close when volcanic activity rises.

Planning your route

Miyazaki is a large prefecture, and its sights fall into two groups. Miyazaki city, Aoshima, Udo Jingu, Obi and Cape Toi line up along the coast to the south. Takachiho is a long way to the north-west, in the mountains, and is best seen with a night there.

Start with the essentials

  1. Row or walk through Takachiho Gorge, and stay for the night kagura.
  2. Cross the bridge to Aoshima and its palm-covered island shrine.
  3. Throw a lucky clay ball at Udo Jingu, the shrine in a sea cave.
  4. Walk the samurai lanes of Obi.

If you have more time

Drive to Cape Toi to see the wild horses, spend an evening eating in Miyazaki city, or head into the Kirishima mountains. Read our three-day itinerary.

Plan your Miyazaki trip

Myths, gorges and a sunny Pacific coast

Row beneath Manai Falls, watch the night kagura in Takachiho, throw a lucky clay ball at Udo Jingu and drive the palm-lined Nichinan coast. Compare tours and book in a couple of taps.

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