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Aoshima Island and the Devil’s Washboard

8 November 2024

This was the 6th day of our road trip and we had planned a long drive from Miyazaki to Kagoshima via the Nichinan Coast. Along the way, we had planned several sightseeing stops with Aoshima Island being the nearest one to Miyazaki.

Note: There is another Aoshima Island known for its large number of cats located in the Ehime Prefecture.

Aoshima is a very small island with a circumference of about 1.5 km, located just off the coast of Miyazaki prefecture and is the start of the Nichinan Coast. It is connected to the main land via a small pedestrian bridge, so we could walk over to the island from the mainland.

It took about 25 minutes to drive the 16 km distance from Miyazaki city center to Aoshima. There are many paid parking areas near the beach but the best and free place to park is at the car park (Google Map location here) next to the Miyako Botanical Garden). From there, we could take a stroll through the gardens to the beach and then on to the Aoshima Island.

View of Aoshima Island from the beach near the car park.

Bridge to Aoshima Island.

As we got onto the bridge leading to the island, we noticed people looking at strange wave-like rock formations that surround the island.

Strange rock formations on both sides of the bridge.

The straight and parallel rock formations on the sea look like giant washboards, so they are called Oni no Sentakuita or “The Devil’s Washboard”. These perfectly straight rows of basalt rock look as if they are remnants of something made by man. However, they are the work of Mother Nature. 

A signboard explains the origin of the “Devil’s Washboard”.

The rocks surrounding Aoshima Island and most parts of the Nichinan Coast are made of sandstone and mudstone that accumulated in alternating layers on the sea floor 6,500,000 years ago. The seafloor rose up from the sea at a slight angle.

After millennia of being washed over by waves, the softer mudstone was slowly eroded, leaving the hard sandstone in its trademark wave structure, as well as the imprint of a washboard-like appearance across the beach. They have been designated national natural monuments.

The rock formations are so fascinating that we took quite a few photos of them.  Snapping photos of the Mother Nature’s artwork.

Parallel lines of rock pointing towards the Nichinan Coast. 

Much of the rocks were exposed at low tide. Else, waves would be crashing on these rocks, further eroding the softer rocks in between.

The washboard like rock formations are found on both sides of the bridge. I was glad we came during low tide where so much of the rocks were exposed. They are solid enough to be walked on.

Rock formations on the left side of the bridge as we were walking towards the island.

Very fascinating patterns could be seen on some of these rocks.

These looked so much like a series of tiles laid by human but yet, these are works of nature.

 Herring bone pattern on these natural rock formation.

For me, the Devil’s Washboard is the highlight of Aoshima Island, although there is also a shrine hidden from view amongst palm trees and tropical greenery on the small island. Torii gate marking the approach to Aoshima Shrine.

The main approach to the shrine is marked by a large red torii gate on the beach. Aoshima Shrine is known as a lucky shrine for marriage, and is a popular location for Shinto wedding ceremonies.  

Entrance to the shrine is from the beach, just after the torii gate.

At the center of the island is Aoshima Shrine, a colorful shrine set back in the jungle.

Many wooden plagues were hanging from a wooden structure that formed a tunnel into the forest.

On the right side of the shrine’s main building, there is a “tunnel” with many wooden plaques with worshippers’ wishes written on them. After walking through the tunnel, there is a short path, through lush tropical jungle, that leads to a smaller outlying shrine.

Many palm trees and sub-tropical plants could be found on Aoshima Island.

A small shrine at the end of the path. Note the crooked snake-like trunk of a palm tree.

A sacred area behind the shrine.

Aoshima Island is small and it only took us less than 15 minutes to see the shrine before heading back down the bridge to Aoshima Beach. 

Back on Aoshima Beach.

We spent some time to view the tropical plants in the Miyako Botanic Garden on our way back to our car. Since we lived in Singapore, most of the flowers and trees in the garden were familiar sights. However, the short, yellowish papaya trees with fruits were a little different from the usual green specimen back home.    

Short papaya trees with yellow fruits at the Miyako Botanical Gardens. 

From Aoshima, we drove down the scenic Nichinan Coast towards Udo Shrine.

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The Nichinan Coast and Udo Shrine

8 November 2024

Perched atop a steep cliff face overlooking the wide, blue ocean and jagged rocks, Udo Shrine is an absolute must for all visitors to Miyazaki. It is located about 35 km south of Miyazaki city.

We drove southwards on Route 220, along the east coast of Miyazaki, from Aoshima Island towards Udo Shrine. This stretch of the coast is known as the Nichinan Coast and is a very scenic route with the sea on our left and the mountains to our right. There were also lots of palm trees in this area, giving it a very tropical feel.   

Horikiri Pass

After about 4 km into our drive from Aoshima, we made a quick stop at Horikiri Pass. This is a nice place to view the ocean from the cliff. We could also view more of the Devil’s Washboard in the shore below us. The bed of rock has straight ridges, which are the result of erosion, giving it the appearance of an old-fashioned washboard.

The washboard-like appearance across the beach, known as Devil’s Washboard, as viewed from Horikiri Pass. 

The old coastal road down Horikiri Pass is supposed to be very scenic but it was closed. We had to backtrack to Route 220 to continue our journey southwards.

The road down the pass was CLOSED!

Lunch at Taikai

We figured that we should have seafood while travelling along the east coast of Kyushu. The coastal areas typically served the freshest and cheapest seafood.

We decided to have early lunch at this highly recommended seafood restaurant located in Nichinan called Taikai (大海). The Kanji characters on the roof mean “Big Sea”, probably referring to the main source of the ingredients for our meal.

View of the Taikai restaurant from the car park. Like most Japanese eating places, there is no fancy signboard advertising their food.

The restaurant opened at 11 AM. We timed our arrival just after the restaurant opens for business. Even then, there were already a few groups of people seated outside, waiting for a table. We had to register our names and waited a short time before we were ushered in. We were offered a seat at a Japanese style, low dining table, where we had to sit on cushions placed on the floor.

The restaurant provided menu in English and we had to order via a tablet. The restaurant features an impressive selection of fresh seafood, including thick-cut sashimi and flavorful lobster, all served at reasonable prices.

The restaurant is known for their Ise Lobsters (Japanese spiny lobster) which were in season. We just had Ise Lobster for dinner in Miyazaki so we decided to skip the lobster and ordered the sashimi rice bowl sets (3410 Yen per set) instead. The seafood rice bowl set came with vinegared vegetables, broth, “dutch egg” or chicken nanban, miso fish soup.    

Tasty appetiser made from seaweed.

Dutch egg (right) and chicken nanban (left).

The “Dutch egg” was pretty tasty . We had a hard time figuring out the ingredients that probably included tofu, egg and some meat protein. The chicken nanban is tasty too. Chicken nanban is fried chicken that is soaked in sweet and sour sauce and comes with tartar sauce. It is a famous Miyazaki local food and is definitely something that is a must try when visiting Miyazaki. We actually had our first try of this savoury dish during the buffet breakfast at the Dormy Inn Miyazaki.

Sashimi rice bowl and fish miso soup.

The rice bowl came with Uni (sea urchin’s roe).

The seafood rice bowl came with various fresh seafood including the expensive Uni (sea urchin’s roe) and sweet Botan shrimp. The portion was generous and I was struggling to finish all the food.

We saw many of the other diners enjoying their grilled lobsters and I felt a little regret that we did not splurge on a lobster meal.

After our lunch break, we continued on our drive down the scenic coastal road to Udo Shrine. We saw signs for the entrance to Sun Messe Nichinan park that featured a row of replica Moai statues but decided to drive on. We had seen similar Moai statues in Hokkaido and was free of charge too. Hence it made no sense to pay money to see something similar.

See my blog post on the Easter Island Moai Statues in Hokkaido here.

Udo Shrine or Udo Jinga (鵜戸神宮)

Udo Shrine is located very close to Sun Messe Nichinan. Apparently there was some road works on the usual access road to the shrine and we were directed by Google Maps to use another access road. We had to turn off into Route 433 on our left side after going through a traffic tunnel on the main highway. From there, we had to turn off Route 433 onto a narrow single track road. This road hugged the coast with the sea to our right, i.e. we are approaching the shrine from the south. We had to drive carefully, as there are many turns and blind corners with cars coming from the opposite direction.

There are several car parks near the shrine and we parked at the nearest available one. This shrine is quite popular as could be seen by the number of cars in the large car park.

Entrance to Udo Shrine.

Another large gate located after the entrance gate.

We took a small detour to see the Udo Inari Shrine first. This small shrine is located on the left, just past the entrance gates.

Like the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto, the Udo Inari Shrine has a series of red torii gates lined up along the path to the shrine, located on the hillside. The torii gates at Udo is smaller in scale but still worth a few photos.

Red torii gates at the Udo Inari Shrine.

Udo Inari Shrine.

   

From the Inari Shrine, we turned left and continued down a path with bright red railings that leads to the main shrine. The main shrine is set in a cave on the side of a cliff overlooking the ocean.   

Stairs leading down to the terrace by the sea and the cave with the shrine.  

The waves crashing on the rocks on the seashore were so fascinating. 

Jagged rocks that jut out from the sea right beneath the cave.

Terrace in front of the cave shrine.

Among the rocks below, we saw a target marked by rope. The target is a hole on a large rock into which people try to throw small clay pebbles called undama (loosely translated as lucky balls). These balls are available sold from a stall by the shrine. 5 balls for 200 yen.

Target is a hole on the rock marked by the rope.

Women throw with their right hand while men throw with their left. Landing an undama in the target brings good luck. We spent some time watching and cheering on some visitors who were testing their throwing skills or luck. More often than not, the clay pebbles missed the target.
 

Fun aside, the actual shrine in the large cave was quite impressive to see.

Udo Shrine is dedicated to Yamasachihiko, the father of Emperor Jimmu, the mythical first emperor of Japan. 

Udo Shrine in the cave.

Due to some legends or stories about Jimmu being or reared here, the shrine is famous for granting luck in love, pregnancy and safe childbirth.

Musician playing on an instrument in the shrine. 

Visitors could walk, in the clockwise direction, around the shrine.     

Smaller shrine on the left side of the main shrine.

Wooden plaques with worshippers’ wishes hang on a rack behind the shrine. 

Stalls selling emas, charms and other souvenirs near the entrance to the cave.

Our visit to Udo Shrine marked the end of our drive down the Nichinan Coast. From there, we drove inland towards Kirishima and then Kagoshima where we would be staying for the night.   

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Sekinoo Falls

8 November 2024

After a drive down Miyazaki’s scenic Nichinan Coast, we headed inland towards the mountains of Kirishima. We had time to visit one more attraction on our way to Kagoshima where we would be staying for the night. It was either Kirishima Shrine or Sekinoo Waterfall.

We had seen enough of shrines for the day, so Sekinoo Falls was our choice.

Sekinoo Falls

It took about 1.5 hours of driving to get to the falls from Udo Shrine. We parked our car in front of the Snow Peak Cafe (Google Map location here).

When we got out from the car, we could hear the sound of the waterfall. Sekinoo Falls is one of Miyazaki's largest and most powerful waterfalls. No wonder we could hear it from the car park. This waterfall is also selected as Japan’s Top 100 Waterfalls and Japanese Geopark!

A signboard explaining the origin of the waterfall and what to see at this place.

There is a walking trail that leads down to a suspension bridge that offers the best view. Along the trail to the falls, we saw a small red shrine that looks a bit peculiar. Unfortunately I did not take a photo of the shrine.

View of Sekinoo Falls and the suspension bridge at the start of the walking trail.

There is also a deep drain with fast flowing water along the side of the trail. I believe this drain is the source of one of the smaller waterfalls we saw downstream from the main waterfall.   

The suspension bridge is the best place to view the waterfalls.     

We stood in the middle of the bridge to watch the torrential falls crash onto volcanic rocks below. By this time, we were the only persons on the bridge. A slight spray from the waterfall could be felt on the bridge.          

Sekinoo Falls throws up a spray with a roaring sound as it falls down the cliff. 

The majestic Sekinoo Falls is comprised of three waterfalls: Ootaki, Otokotaki, and Onnataki. Ootaki being the largest one has a 40 m width and 18 m height. One of the smaller falls is at the right side of the main falls and was partially covered by trees. The other smaller falls is downstream from the suspension bridge.

Ootaki as viewed from the middle of the bridge.

Another angle of Ootaki from near the end of the bridge.One of the smaller waterfalls downstream from the bridge. There is a separate walking path from the car park to this waterfall that we did not take.  

View of lower Shonai River, downstream from the Sekinoo Falls.

After crossing the suspension bridge, we climbed up some stairs to get to the top of the waterfall. 

View of the Shonai River at the top of the waterfall.

Here we saw the shallow river flowing over many flat rocks, one to two meters in size, that seemed to scatter all over. The river bed is actually a single connected rock formation with “ouketsu ” or cracks on it. “Ouketsu” are translated as potholes. 

“ouketsu” or potholes at the top of Sekinoo Falls.

There is a walking path next to the river. We strolled up the path to view the over 600m long stretch of river with the potholes. 

Concrete bridge over the upper Shonai River where we could get closer look at the potholes.

Water flowing over the cracks in the river bed or potholes.

Long exposure photo of the flowing river.

It was a quiet and peaceful park. There was a camping ground on our left but there was no activity on the large field.

Further upstream, we spotted a family of small wild ducks playing on the river. They were quite fearful of humans and I could not get within range to photograph them.

Another concrete bridge further upstream.

We turned back at a concrete bridge that is located further upriver.  The path across the river was closed, so we had to use the same path we took back to the car park.

It was almost 4 PM when we returned to our car. The sun sets at about 5.30 PM in Kyushu and we wanted to avoid driving the rural roads in the dark. It took us about 1.5 hours to drive to Kagoshima, getting there just in time for check-in before sunset.  

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