Japan
Takachiho
A basalt gorge where the sun goddess hid, and a night dance that has never stopped.
The gorge drops sheer into emerald water between walls of columnar basalt so regular they look carved. But Takachiho's real power is mythological: this is where Amaterasu, the sun goddess, hid in a cave and plunged the world into darkness, and where the other gods danced to lure her out. The kagura dances performed at the shrine re-enact her coaxing-out, as they have done for generations.
Takachiho sits in the mountains of Miyazaki Prefecture, and its gorge — a narrow cleft of volcanic rock cut by the Gokase River — is walked from a path along the cliff top and, when the water allows, rowed from below, drifting under the overhangs to the foot of Manai Falls. Amano Iwato Shrine stands across the river from the cave where the sun goddess is said to have hidden, and Takachiho Shrine stages public performances of yokagura for visitors — a few of the masked sacred dances whose full cycle of thirty-three acts runs from dusk to dawn in village halls through the winter. The town also claims to be where Amaterasu's grandson descended from heaven to found the imperial line — a claim it disputes with a mountain in Kirishima, and defends with a straight face.
Couple
Rowing through the gorge beneath Manai Falls, then the kagura by lantern light at the shrine, makes an evening that slides from natural awe to something older and stranger.
Solo
The mythological weight of Takachiho rewards solo contemplation. The cave shrine, the gorge path and the kagura in a small audience connect you to something older than tourism.
- The gorge cuts through columnar volcanic basalt — hire a rowing boat and drift beneath the cliffs to the foot of Manai Falls.
- Shinto mythology places the cave where Amaterasu hid the sun from the world on the hillside above the town.
- Yokagura night dances at Takachiho Shrine re-enact the creation myths with masked performers at the shrine's public performances.
- The gorge path follows the cliff top above the river, passing overhangs dripping with fern and moss.
Chicken nanban — crisp fried chicken in sweet vinegar with tartare sauce — Miyazaki's gift to the world, on every menu in town.
Takachiho beef, raised on the volcanic highland grass, rich and mineral, at a yakiniku grill in the town centre.
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