Time flies when you have fun! We already have 9 days of delay between the blog and the real life. Time to catch up a bit, at least for the first 4 days! So what happened? A lot!!
Bumpy road
We left Aso National Park to discover the nearby Miyazaki prefecture. We started with the temple and the famous gorge of Takachiho. Even under the rain, this gorge is quite gorgeous, with its cascade over the deep blue-green river. You can also rent a boat and row on a limited portion. But unless you enjoy crowded rivers, and being pushed and kicked by the boat of amateur rowers going into circles, I would not recommend it… Watching this circus from the top of the gorge is way more entertaining!!
Google maps was recommending a 2.5 to 3 hours drive to our next destination, Ebino plateau, with both itinerary going around the mountain chain. Never ever it suggested to cut through it via the existing road. But Eff insisted that we took it because it would be nicer to drive in smaller roads than the highways. Mmmm… Ok, you drive you choose. We ended up on a very narrow and winding mountain road for 3 hours. For someone who was fed up of driving, that was probably not the most appropriate choice!! But it led to great surprises.
A bit tired, we stopped in an onsen randomly found on the GPS. Beautiful house, warm owner, great bath! It was the relaxing and refreshing moment we desperately needed. We even considered to stop and do the remaining portion of the drive in the morning. Instead we drove just a bit more to Hitoyoshi, the closer city, booked an hotel, and had dinner in an izakaya. Both were amazing! Brand new hotel with traditional Japanese rooms, smily and welcoming manager, and really good izakaya where we were the only customers. It was owned by a lovely couple, with whom we had a fantastic time chatting about the region, and trips in Japan in general. Well… Chatting being a bit overrated as it was not such a fluid discussion, but good enough to have the feeling of proper communication!
We had an early morning rise, direction Ebino plateau for a day of hiking.
Hiking in Ebino plateau
Ebino is part of the Kirishima-Yaku National Park, another geopark in Japan, composed of multiple active volcanoes. There are several hiking trails from there, but many are closed due to the high volcanic activity of Mt Io and Mt Shinmoedake, which both erupted last year. Mt Shinmoedake has a long and history of eruptions: 2008, 2009, 2011, 2017 and 2018 just for the 21st century.
We headed towards the Onami-Ike crater lake and Karakunidake. Fantastic day for a fantastic hike! Weather was amazing: crisp blue sky, warm. It was a welcome improvement since Mt Kuju! The first portion of the hike was really nice and easy. We walked on the rim of the lake, mesmerised by its deep blue colour contrasting with the surrounding yellow grassland and enjoyed the view from a distance on the smoking Sakurajima. It was so easy that the very steep climb of Karakunidake took us by surprise!! Straight up to the top with many uneven stairs, it was more of a challenge, but the 360 view was unbelievable. Smoking Mt Io, dark grey Shinmoedake with visible signs of the most recent eruption, Sakurajima in the background, and the blue crater lake in front of us, and just us. There are always some wow moments in life. It was definitely one of them.
We went back down for a welcomed onsen, had a great dinner watching the wandering deers, and went to bed. Our days are filled and exciting, but forget about nightlife!! It is exceptional if we manage to stay awake after 9pm…
The next morning, we did another small walk nearby, and went to visit the Kirishima jingu shrine. Really beautiful, with more ornament and colors in its structure than usual, and the lush forest in the background. Considering the size of the parking lot, it must be very popular too. But one of the perks of travelling off season is the ability to avoid rush and crowds, and therefore experience really peaceful moments.
After few days of mountain, forest and volcanoes, it was time for a change and for enjoying the beautiful rugged coast of Miyazaki.
Beautiful coast of Miyazaki
First stop was Sun Messe, near Nichinan. It is the only place in the world where reproductions of the famous Moaï of Easter Island have been permitted. The 7 statues standing tall on the cliff, looking inland, surrounded by lush mountains and palm trees, are beautified by the deep blue colour of the Pacific ocean behind them. They are very impressive, and Eff could not tell much difference with the original ones he saw 12 years ago. Not sure if we will go back to Easter Island together, so I am very happy I had the chance to see those reproductions!
But why are they here you may wonder? In the late seventies, because of tribal wars and an earthquake, statues were destroyed in Easter Island. Devastated by the damage of such treasure, Japan decided to rebuild them, and consequently the site was included in the list of UNESCO world heritage. Japan was then given the reproductions as an expression of gratitude from Easter Island.
Small detour by Udo shrine, and we went to spend the night and the following morning at Cape Toi, a promontory a bit further south of Nichinan. What a place!! The biggest surprise of all. Very green hills overlooking the sea, and wild horses all over. It was peaceful, beautiful, surprising, relaxing, you name it! We had a drink and dinner watching sunset from a bench, probably the most enjoyable camping evening of the trip so far! At least the closer from the idea I had of campervan lifestyle before leaving. But this is another story…
The horses are a population of rare breed, known as Misaki, being one of the 8 native breeds of Japan. They have been designated as National Monument. You can climb up the hills where they tend to congregate, to enjoy the views and be free to observe them, as long as you neither touch nor feed them. They seemed totally indifferent to our presence, quietly eating the grass or scratching their ears with branches.
We loved the place, for the views, the quietness, the horses, the colors. But overall, Miyazaki has been a very good surprise of this trip. It is a great prefecture, with beautiful forest mountains, a rugged and deep blue coast, and amazing green rice paddies surrounded by palm trees. Some sceneries were exactly how you would picture Hawaii. We had only a glimpse of it, but I would come back in a heartbeat.
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