Hiking around Takachiho Gorge

Takachiho gorge

It was time to leave Miyazaki and make our way to Takachiho Gorge. We left early because we wanted to arrive at the gorge before other tourists. Our AirBNB host had warned us that it was a holiday in Japan and that it may be busy at the Gorge. It was a two hour drive from Miyazaki to Takachiho through a beautiful mountainous area. We had hoped to arrive before it got too busy so we could rent a rowboat inside the gorge. However, by the time we arrived there was already a three hour wait. We didn’t want to wait that long.

Because we were staying overnight, we could get here early to boat before heading to our next destination. As we decided what we wanted to do for the rest of the day, we walked along the Gorge. It was a beautiful stroll through this beautiful part of nature.

Kyushu OLLE Takachiho Course

So while I was perfectly fine with checking into our ryokan and having a lazy day around town, FunkyCat looked up a 12 kilometer hike around the area called the Kyushu OLLE Takachiho Course. I hesitantly agreed and before I knew it we were off! I’d like to say I conquered the course like a champ, but I’m sure FunkyCat and Salmonella can testify to me complaining for about two thirds of the time! (Though in my defence we did hike up one side of the gorge, down it again, and back up the other side!)

I am thankful though that they dragged me along, it was a beautiful hike and we travelled through a wide variety of landscapes. From shrines hidden in the woodland forest

To beautiful farm fields of green tea and crops:

To the different peaks overlooking the valleys below

Then descending to the bottom of the gorge to cross over to the other side

And even our own bamboo forest to walk through

It was a beautiful hike, and we all enjoyed it a lot! Along the way we all had a great opportunity to chat enjoy God’s creation and simply take it all in (between all the complaining from me of course!)

Ryokan

By the time we got back to the car we were all pooped and fully ready to check into our ryokan. A ryokan is a traditional Japanese Inn and Salmonella had booked us one while in Takachiho.

We were all ready to hop in the shower, except there weren’t any showers! With this being a ryokan we would need to freshen up in the onsen. An onsen is a public bath, normally filled by water from a hot spring. This ryokan’s onsen was located on the top floor so I’m not sure if it was hot spring water or normal water. But it would be my first onsen! So donning the provided Yutaka, I was ready for a new experience!

I’d like to say it was an amazing experience, however aside from getting over the stigma of it being public, I actually found the water quite hot and the room quite steamy. After doing the washing and then dipping in the bath, I was only able to stay for a few minutes. I’m not sure if it’s because I wasn’t use to it or I was tired from the hike, but I felt a bit light headed for a bit afterwards. Nonetheless, it was an experience and there were still other onsens in my future so this wasn’t the last time.

Joyful 

After bathing and then relaxing for a little, we were started getting hungry. We looked up a few places to eat nearby, but nothing really jumped out at us. Over the past few days we had driven past a few restaurants belonging to the Joyful chain and we passed one on our way to Takachiho. We decided to go there and we weren’t disappointed! I would almost liken it to a “Japanese Denny’s” for my North American friends.

By the time I got back to the ryokan I was pooped. It’d been a long day! We were excited for tomorrow though, we had the rowboats in the gorge to look forward to and a the luxury ryokan we had decided was our one”splurge” lodging for the trip!