Botanical garden at michi no eki Nango
29/01/2025 / Last updated : 29/01/2025 d.d Scenic Drive / Spots

Michi no eki Nango, Botanical Garden　道の駅なんごう

November 22nd. 2024 Michi no eki Nango and Botanical garden Michi no eki Nango is, I think, an excellent place to stay. Yes, most of the parking is on a bit of a slope but there are places that are flat. The toilets are small, clean and 50% modern. They also feature potted plants and posies. Any negative points are outweighed by the splendid location; overlooking the sea and adjacent to a large, free botanical garden few michi no eki come close. In the botanical garden there is a tropical area, a rock plant area and Jacaranda woods. There are various trails and wooden boardwalks wandering through a large area. […]
29/01/2025 / Last updated : 29/01/2025 d.d Scenic Drive / Spots

Mizonokuchi Cave and Miike Lake　溝口洞穴、御池

November 21st. 2024 Miike Lake　御池 Michi no eki Ebino provided a good night and we set off for Mizonokuchi Doketsu. On the way to this large cave, we are sidetracked by a sign to Miike, a small lake that we passed yesterday. The sign has a picture of a Fairy Pitta. I have never seen this bird so we make for the lake. The lake presents a splendid view of placid water with Mt Takachiho (maybe) looming in the background. Here you can rent paddle boats and canoes but the rental place is closed as is the path around the lake edge due to a rockfall. We note that there […]
26/01/2025 / Last updated : 26/01/2025 d.d Scenic Drive / Spots

Kunimigaoka and Mitate gorge　国見が丘、見立渓谷

November 19th. 2024 Kunimigaoka, cloud sea. The night at michi no eki Seiunbashi was very cold, a sudden, drastic drop in temperature. 3 degrees C with the clear sky, bright with a waning moon. This morning D. wants to go to Kunimigaoka to view the cloud sea. Consequently, we set the alarm for 6.30 and set off before breakfast. It is, however, quite a long drive and well past sunrise when we arrive to a wonderful view with an almost complete absence of cloud. We can see a puff of smoke hanging over Mt. Aso far away in the distance. The reclining Buddha, formed by Nekodake and Aso, very clear […]
Amayasugawara
23/01/2025 / Last updated : 23/01/2025 d.d Temple / Shrine

Harajiri waterfall to Amanoiwato shrine　原尻の滝から天岩戸神社

November 18th. 2024 Harajiri waterfall　原尻の滝 Left Taketa and made for Takachiho. On the way we stopped at Harajiri waterfall. We have been here before but it is a pleasant spot. The waterfall is unusual in that it is set in the middle of rice fields. There is a large torii gate in the water just above the falls. During a local festival, a Mikoshi or portable shrine is carried through the gate at night by scantily clad young men. This event had taken place just the night before and large fires were still smouldering. This is a popular place, many of the surrounding fields are given over to the cultivation […]
Ebino highland
26/03/2022 / Last updated : 18/02/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Ebino Plateau and the 3 Lake Course Hiking　えびの高原

December, ’21 A bright full moon and a very cold night. Ebino Plateau We set off on a beautiful morning for the Ebino Plateau, making sure to buy supplies on the way before getting into the mountains. It is often difficult to buy food in very rural areas. Around midday, we arrived at a large car park of Ebino Eco Museum Centre. From here we could see the snow on Mount Io and Karakunidake glistening in the bright sunshine, there was, however, a bitterly cold wind whipping across the open space. The 3 Lakes Course　池めぐりコース We had planned to hike around the three crater lakes, but part of the route […]
Kirishima Open-Air Museum
27/08/2019 / Last updated : 17/02/2025 d.d Arts / Places of interest

Kirishima Open-Air Museum 霧島アートの森

December 2017, & November 2024 Kirishima Open-Air Museum On a trip to see the eruption of Shinmoedake in Kirishima volcano, we discovered the Kirishima Open-Air Museum. This was a real surprise. As you wander around a large, pleasant park of grassy expanses and a woodland of spindly trees, you can view the work of a variety of artists. Being an open air exhibition, it is sculpture based. The works are, however, of wildly different concepts. They range from the outrageous pop of Kusama Yayoi’s huge polka-dot shoes, to the enigmatic, sinister yet vulnerable “Insiders”. Antony Gormley’s  frail figures lurking in the thin trees. There is perhaps something for most tastes, […]
Ohmi Shrine
17/08/2019 / Last updated : 02/02/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Ohmi Shrine and Kimigayo rocks　大御神社

December 2017, Ohmi Shrine Kimigayo rocks　　大御神社さざれ石 Our first stop of the day is Ohmi Shrine. This is a pleasant place in a small cove at the end of a long sandy beach. The Shrine is a modest, unadorned, wooden structure perched on an interesting rock formation. Basalt columns, I guess. There is also a large rock called ‘Sazare-ishi’ garlanded with a ceremonial rope that, D. was surprised to discover, features in the Japanese national anthem. The rock is a large lump of conglomerate, that stands next to a natural, circular pool that was important in Jomon era dragon ceremonies. All this and a sandy cove too! A short walk through […]
Udo Shrine
15/08/2019 / Last updated : 02/02/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Cape Toi, Udo Shrine and Aoshima　都井岬、鵜戸神社、青島

December 2017, Cape Toi We set off for Toi-misaki(Cape Toi), which has good views, a lighthouse and wild horses(Misaki-uma). We visited this place on a motorcycle trip 30 plus years ago and had fond memories of it. Especially the minshuku, or B&B. This place, despite our initial reservations, (it looked like a very tacky café) provided superb sea views, opera on the radio and excellent food. We were surprised to find you now have to pay 400 yen to enter the cape and a further 200 yen to view the lighthouse. The cape does offer a spacious area of short, horse nibbled grass and wonderful seascapes on all sides. Then […]