What Is Takachiho Gorge, and What Else Is There to See in Takachiho?

Published 2026-10-04 · Sources checked 2026-10-04 · Treasure Hunting Co., Ltd.

This guide is for visitors planning what to see in Takachiho, a town in the mountains of northern Miyazaki that Japanese tradition links to the sun goddess and the age of the gods. It uses the English pages of the Visit Miyazaki prefectural site and the Japanese pages of the Takachiho Tourist Association, which we translated. All pages were read on 2026-10-04.

The short answer

Most visitors come for Takachiho Gorge, then add the shrine at Amanoiwato, the evening kagura dance and a ride on the old railway line. Visit Miyazaki calls the town "a place famous as a home to many myths".

Takachiho Gorge

According to Visit Miyazaki, the gorge was formed by the eruption of Mount Aso. It extends for roughly 7 kilometers and is about 80 to 100 meters deep, and it is a nationally designated place of scenic beauty and natural monument. A boardwalk gives views of the columnar cliffs and waterfalls. Manai Falls drops 17 meters, is named as one of Japan's top 100 waterfalls, and is the symbol of the gorge. Entry is free.

You can also see the falls from a rental boat. Visit Miyazaki says reservations are recommended. The Tourist Association is stricter: it says boats can be booked only through its online reservation site, from 2 weeks before the day until 9:00 two days before, with no phone bookings and no waiting list. Some tickets are sold at the boat reception on the morning of the day. When we read the page on 4 October, the association had posted that all boats for that day were already sold out in advance and that about 55 same-day tickets were expected for the next day. It also notes that the first Oshio-i parking lot is not reserved for boat customers.

Amanoiwato Shrine and Amanoyasukawara

Visit Miyazaki describes Amanoiwato Shrine as the setting of the myth in the oldest surviving Japanese history book, in which the sun goddess Amaterasu hid in a cave behind a stone door after quarrelling with her brother. The stone door itself is enshrined as the god of the shrine. The sample course reaches it by bus to the Iwato stop, about 15 minutes from the Takachiho Bus Center. Amanoyasukawara, a large cave about 10 minutes' walk from the shrine, is described as the riverbank where the other gods gathered to decide how to bring back the light. Visitors pile small stones there and make wishes. Prayers guided by a priest are offered 15 times a day at Amanoiwato Shrine, the page says.

Takachiho Shrine

Takachiho Shrine in the town centre is known for marriage blessings. Visit Miyazaki mentions an old tree called Chichibu-sugi that it says is about 800 years old, and Meoto Sugi, two cedars grown into one trunk. The tradition is to walk around it three times holding hands with your partner. The shrine also hosts the nightly kagura dance, which we describe in a separate guide.

Kunimigaoka

This viewing platform stands at about 513 meters. Visit Miyazaki says it has the best views of the Takachiho basin, with Mount Aso to the west, and that it earned a star in the Michelin Green Guide Japan. A sea of clouds can be seen in the early morning between late September and early December on chilly, windless, clear mornings. By car it is about 15 minutes from the Takachiho Bus Center.

Takachiho Amaterasu Railway

Open-topped carts run about 5 kilometers over the old Takachiho Railway line to the Takachiho Iron Bridge, which Visit Miyazaki calls Japan's highest railway bridge at 105 meters. Part of the cart floor is glass. Admission is 100 yen as an environmental fee, and the Grand Super Kart costs 1,800 yen for high school students and older, 1,100 yen for elementary and junior high school students and 600 yen for preschool children, entry fee included. Operation is from 9:40 to 15:40, with maintenance closures on the third Thursday of each month and possible closures in rain, so check the official site first.

Lunch

The sample course suggests the roadside station in the middle of town, which has a mask-shaped monument, a view of the gorge and a restaurant serving Takachiho beef that, per the page, won the Prime Minister's Award at the national wagyu competition.

What we could not verify, and therefore left out

• Current boat prices and running times for the gorge.
• Opening hours and fees for the Amanoiwato area, which the pages do not give.
• Whether the railway is running on your date.

Related guides

• How do you get to Takachiho by car, bus and train from Fukuoka, Kumamoto and Miyazaki?
• How do you see Takachiho Kagura, and plan two days in Takachiho without a car?

Sources

All URLs retrieved 2026-10-04.

1. Takachiho Gorge (Visit Miyazaki) — (gorge)
2. Access page with boat and kagura status (Takachiho Tourist Association, in Japanese) — (boat booking rules)
3. Two days in Takachiho by public transportation (Visit Miyazaki) — (shrine, cave, railway, lunch)
4. Takachiho Shrine (Visit Miyazaki) — (shrine)
5. Kunimigaoka (Visit Miyazaki) — (viewing platform)
6. Takachiho Amaterasu Railway (Visit Miyazaki) — (railway)