1. Miyazaki

After relaxing and refreshing at Kurokawa Onsen, we resumed our journey through Kyushu and headed west to Miyazaki prefecture. My friend from college had grown up in Miyazaki, and told me about the Takachiho Canyon. We rented a canoe for 30 minutes, and enjoyed the view from the water. There were beautiful waterfalls, and looking at them from below was spectacular.

Waterfall in Takachiho Canyon

Waterfall in Takachiho Canyon

There are also shrines and other cultural activities that you can do near the canyon. We went to Amano-yasugawara, which is a cave in the premises of the Amano-iwato Shrine.Inside and around the cave, were small rocks and pebbles stacked up neatly with perfect balance. This delicate work was done by the people who came to pray.

Cave

Amano-yasugawara Cave

Stacked up rocks

Stacked up rocks

  1. Nagasaki

Nagasaki is a prefecture with numerous islands and is known for its popular family amusement park called Huis Ten Bosch. The family theme park recreates the town of Netherlands, with tulips blooming in the spring, and restaurants that serve European food. Huis Ten Bosch means “house in the woods” in Dutch. Nagasaki was one of the several locations in Japan that were a trading post with foreign countries, and Nagasaki traded mainly with the Netherlands.

Huis Ten Bosch during the day

Huis Ten Bosch during the day

Huis Ten Bosch during the night

Huis Ten Bosch during the night

Huis Ten Bosch is located in Sasebo city, which is also famous for its hamburgers. The Sasebo-burger originated during the post WW2 era, when American culture was brought into Japan. Another well-known Nagasaki food, is Kasutera. This is a type of sponge cake that was brought to Nagasaki by Portugal’s missionary. It is now a popular gift to give to friends or family, but you can find Kasutera cake in supermarkets almost anywhere in Japan.

There are many wonderful places to go in Japan, and finding good ones is a tough task, so I hope this blog has helped you learn the different prefectures and activities you can try.