Takachiho Private Tour: The Gorge, the Shrines and the Night Kagura

Takachiho is a small town in the mountains of northern Miyazaki, and the place Japanese myth names as where the sun goddess went into hiding. It is also one of the awkward corners of Kyushu to reach by public transport and one of the easiest by car, which is why it belongs in the middle of a private route rather than at either end of one.

Getting there

Takachiho has had no railway since the Takachiho Line closed in 2005. The nearest station is Nobeoka on the JR Nippo Line, about an hour away by road, with buses running a few times a day. By car the town is roughly two hours from Kumamoto and from Oita, about an hour and a half from Aso, and around three hours from Fukuoka. Those last figures are the reason most itineraries put Takachiho between Kumamoto and Miyazaki rather than bolting it onto a day trip.

The approach from Aso comes over the caldera rim and down through the Gokase valley, which is worth the drive on its own; from Kumamoto the road follows the Shirakawa up into the mountains. Either way the last half hour is single-carriageway mountain road, and it is slower after rain than the map suggests.

包車 — charter

A charter is a vehicle and driver for the day or the week, with the order of stops in your hands. In Takachiho that means the gorge early, before the coaches arrive and while the light is still coming down the cliff; the shrines in the next valley afterwards; and Kunimigaoka for the view without watching a bus clock. It also means stopping at the roadside stands for Takachiho soba, and for sweetfish in summer, which no timetable allows for.

The town itself is small enough to walk in twenty minutes, so the car is not for getting around Takachiho — it is for what sits outside it: the outer shrine at Amano Iwato, the cave down by the river below it, and the viewpoints on the ridges either side of the valley.

包團 — private tour

A private tour adds the nights and the order of them: a ryokan in the valley, dinner times that fit the evening kagura, and a guide who can explain what the dances are telling. The mythology here is not decoration. The cave, the shrine and the dances are one story told in three places, and it reads differently with someone who knows it.

Routes that work

• 5 days: Fukuoka in, two nights around Yufuin or Kurokawa Onsen, then across the caldera to Takachiho for two nights, out from Kumamoto or Miyazaki.
• 7 days: the same, plus the Miyazaki coast — Aoshima and the Nichinan road — and a night in Kagoshima for Sakurajima.
• 10 days: a full Kyushu loop: Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kumamoto and Takachiho, Kagoshima, then back up the east coast through Miyazaki and Oita.

When to come

Spring and autumn are the comfortable months, and the gorge is at its best after rain, when the falls carry more water than the photographs suggest. Late September to November brings the sea of clouds at Kunimigaoka on clear mornings, which is the reason photographers come. Summer is green and hot, with sweetfish grilled on sticks at the gorge and the shrine festivals in full swing. Winter is quiet, cold in the mornings, and occasionally white — the boats are suspended when the water is high, so a winter visit is about the shrines and the dances rather than the river.

Frequently asked questions

Do we need a car to visit Takachiho?

It helps a great deal. There is no station in town, buses from Nobeoka are infrequent, and the gorge, the two shrines and Kunimigaoka sit in different valleys. A car and driver turns three separate bus waits into one unhurried day.

How long does the boat hire at the gorge take?

The rowing boats run for about half an hour on the gorge floor, and the queue is the real constraint rather than the time on the water. Boats are suspended when the river is high, so we check on the morning rather than promise it in advance.

Is the night kagura performed every evening?

Yokagura performances are held at Takachiho Shrine in the evening on most nights of the year, in a hall built for them, and last about an hour. It is a seated performance rather than a festival, so it suits most ages, and no Japanese is needed to follow it — the programme notes explain each dance.

How many nights does Takachiho deserve?

Two nights is comfortable: one full day for the gorge, the shrines and the cave, and one evening for the kagura. One night works if the gorge is the only reason you came, but it leaves no room for weather.

Can we combine Takachiho with Aso and Kurokawa Onsen?

Yes — it is the natural middle of a Kyushu route. Aso to Takachiho is about an hour and a half by road, and Kurokawa Onsen is a little further north, so the three make a loop rather than a series of detours.