Visiting Takachiho Gorge: rowboats, Manai Falls and how to get there

If you have seen one photo of Miyazaki, it was probably this one: a little rowboat beneath a waterfall, between towering walls of basalt. Takachiho Gorge is every bit as beautiful in real life, but it takes some planning to reach and to see at its best. Here is how to do it.

Rowing to Manai Falls

Rowing a boat up the gorge to Manai Falls is the classic Takachiho experience. Each boat takes up to three adults, and you have about 30 minutes to row up the narrow channel, under the falls and back. No experience is needed, though steering in the current takes a few minutes to master.

• Booking: boats are booked online in advance, and they sell out on weekends, holidays and in autumn. Bookings open a set time before each date, so check the official booking page and book as early as you can.
• Price: a few thousand yen per boat, a little more at weekends and on holidays.
• Closures: boats do not run when the river is high after heavy rain, which is common in the rainy season and after typhoons.

Walking the gorge

If you cannot get a boat, the walk is just as rewarding. A path of about 1 km runs along the top of the gorge, from the car parks near Onokoro Pond to the high bridges at the other end. It passes the best viewpoint over Manai Falls and crosses under three bridges, built over the river in different centuries. Allow about an hour. The path has steps and can be slippery, and sections are sometimes closed for repairs after landslides.

When to go

• Time of day: early morning, before the day tours arrive, is the quietest. Around midday the sun reaches the bottom of the gorge and lights up the water.
• Season: fresh green in spring and early summer, and red and gold leaves from mid to late November. In summer, the gorge is lit up in the evening.

Getting there

• By car: about 2–2½ hours from Miyazaki city, or 1½–2 hours from Kumamoto Airport. There are car parks near the gorge, which fill up at busy times.
• By bus: highway buses run from Fukuoka and Kumamoto to Takachiho, and local buses run from Nobeoka. From Takachiho bus centre, the gorge is a short taxi ride or a 30-minute walk downhill.
• On a tour: day tours from Kumamoto and Fukuoka include the gorge. They rarely leave time for the boats.

More to see in Takachiho

• Amano Iwato Shrine: the shrine facing the cave where the sun goddess Amaterasu is said to have hidden, plunging the world into darkness. A short walk away is Amanoyasukawara, a riverside cave filled with small stone cairns.
• Takachiho Shrine: an old shrine in a cedar grove, where the night kagura is performed every evening. Read our guide to the Takachiho night kagura.
• Kunimigaoka: a viewpoint above town, famous for its sea of clouds on autumn mornings.
• The Amaterasu Railway: an open-air cart that runs along part of a former railway line, across a high bridge above the river.

Tips

• Stay the night. It lets you see the kagura and visit the gorge early the next morning.
• Bring cash for parking, shrines and small restaurants.
• Try kappo-zake, sake warmed in a fresh piece of green bamboo, and chicken nanban in town.
• See where to stay for ryokan and minshuku in Takachiho.