Miyazaki

Kyushu, Japan · City, Sea / Beach

Kyushu's surf capital, with Aoshima Island — tiny, ringed by the naturally layered rock formations of the 'Devil's Washboard' (Oni no Sentakuita) — Miyazaki Shrine among centuries-old cedars, and more neighbourhood bars per head than anywhere in Japan, packed into Nishitachi. Udo Shrine, usually filed under Miyazaki, is in Nichinan, seventy minutes away by bus.

The essentials

Getting there

Train + bus — Kyushu Shinkansen from Hakata (Fukuoka) to Kagoshima-Chuo (~1h20min), then the 'Kirishima' limited express to Miyazaki (~2h20min); the combination is fully covered by the National JR Pass and the Kyushu Rail Pass. A faster alternative (about 3h total) combines the Shinkansen to Shin-Yatsushiro with the 'B&S Miyazaki' bus, but the bus leg isn't covered by any JR pass. Direct flights also connect Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka to Miyazaki Airport.

Frequently asked questions about Miyazaki

What to do in Miyazaki: 21 activities

• Aoshima Island and its shrine 2 h must-see

  A tiny island connected to the mainland by a 1.5km walk through beaches and subtropical jungle, with a shrine dedicated to couples at its centre.

• Nishitachi, Miyazaki after dark 4 h must-see

  Some eleven hundred eating and drinking places thirteen minutes on foot from the station: Miyazaki has the highest number of neighbourhood bars per head in Japan and this is its epicentre. The local rituals are charcoal-grilled native chicken, gyoza, the city leads national consumption, and finishing the night with a fruit parfait at a late-opening fruit parlour.

• Chicken nanban 1 h

  A point of precision: it was born in Nobeoka, about ninety kilometres to the north, where two establishments dispute its paternity - the one with the original chicken without tartare sauce and the one that added the tartare. In Miyazaki city it is eaten everywhere, but it is not a dish that originated here.

• Devil's Washboard (Oni no Sentakuita) 0.5 h

  Perfectly straight rows of basalt rock around Aoshima, visible at low tide; an entirely natural phenomenon despite its artificial-looking pattern.

• Lettuce-maki, hiyajiru and mango 1 h booking

  The lettuce maki with prawns and mayonnaise was literally invented here, in a sushiya in the city. Alongside it come hiyajiru, a cold miso soup with grilled fish and cucumber over rice that was peasant summer food, and the prefecture's premium mango, available from April to July and extremely expensive.

• Miyazaki Prefectural Art Museum 1.75 h

  The permanent collection is free. Its core is the local painter Ei-Q, but it holds a surprisingly strong body of Surrealism, with Magritte and De Chirico, and of contemporary Italian sculpture. Closed Mondays.

• Miyazaki Shrine Grand Festival 3.5 h only the weekend after 26 October

  On 1 and 2 November, with a mikoshi parade on both afternoons from the shrine to Tachibana avenue, an old boat carried on shoulders and the shanshan-uma, the decorated horses. On the night of the 1st there is a festival plaza on Takachiho street.

• Professional baseball spring training 3 h

  In February eight professional teams train in the prefecture, among them the Yomiuri Giants and the SoftBank Hawks, with bases in the city and around it. The training sessions are open to spectators and the spring series games are all free to enter.

• Science and Technology Museum 2 h

  Two minutes' walk from the station. It has a planetarium with a 27-metre dome showing some 38,000 stars and a full-scale replica of the Apollo 11 lunar module, one of the two that exist in the world. Closed Mondays.

• Surfing at Kisakihama and Aoshima 2.5 h booking

  Miyazaki is, along with Chiba, the capital of Japanese surfing: more than 300 kilometres of exposed coast. Kisakihama, within the municipality, hosted the 2019 surfing World Championships. Typhoon season, June to November, brings the best waves and also the most dangerous ones for beginners.

• Aoshima Pacific Marathon 6 h booking

  Run in December and now in its fortieth edition, with a marathon, ten kilometres and three kilometres. Watch the registration window: it opens and closes in June, six months ahead. On race day there are massive road closures in the city and in Aoshima, relevant even for those not running.

• Heiwadai haniwa garden 0.75 h

  More than 400 haniwa replicas - warriors, houses, boats, dancers and animals - set among the pines, copied from the grave goods excavated in the prefecture.

• Heiwadai Park and its tower 1.75 h

  A 36-metre tower raised in 1940 for the 2,600th anniversary of the empire. You need to know what it is: its original name alluded to the expansionist slogan of gathering the eight corners of the world under one roof, and it was built with stones sent from across the empire, many of them from occupied territories. The American occupation had the inscription removed and in the 1960s it was put back. It is still a disputed monument, not a neutral viewpoint.

• Ikime Shrine and the archaeological park 1.5 h

  Shrine in the west of the city specialising in eye complaints, tied to the legend of the warrior Taira no Kagekiyo. Beside it, a centre interprets the large group of kofun burial mounds on the site: it is the excavation that explains the ancient settlement of the Miyazaki plain, and it gets far fewer visitors than Saitobaru.

• Kayaking, paddleboarding and lessons on Aoshima beach 1 h booking

  Municipal centre on the beach, ten minutes' walk from Aoshima station, with sea kayaking, paddleboarding or a surf lesson in short sessions. Cash only; closed Wednesdays outside the swimming season.

• Miyazaki Shrine 1 h

  One of Japan's oldest shrines, dedicated to the legendary first emperor Jimmu, set in a forested precinct of centuries-old cedars.

• Museum of Nature and History and the Minkaen 1.75 h

  Next to Miyazaki Jingu shrine, free and closed on Tuesdays. The adjoining garden preserves four rural houses relocated in the 1970s, between a century and a half and two centuries old; two are national Important Cultural Properties.

• Phoenix Seagaia onsen 2.5 h

  Hot spring complex inside the Seagaia pine forest, whose public bath admits outside visitors from 6 am to 11:30 pm. The water is sodium chloride with iodine, drawn from marine fossils, and has a reputation as beauty water. In winter the outdoor sections call for a coat.

• Yabusame at Miyazaki Jingu 2 h only 3 Apr

  Horseback archery in the shrine grounds on 3 April, in the afternoon. The shrine, dedicated to Emperor Jinmu, is also one of the best places in the city for cherry blossom and wisteria.

• Aoshima Beach Park 3 h

  Seasonal setup of beach bars, hammocks and music on Aoshima beach. It only runs in the warm months and changes format every year: check the dates before counting on it.

• The bougainvillea airport 1 h

  The airport officially carries the nickname Bougainvillea and displays the plants in the terminal. It is ten minutes by train from the centre and holds the best selection of food souvenirs: mango, shochu, wagyu and cheese manju.

What only happens on specific dates

• Yabusame at Miyazaki Jingu 3 Apr
• Miyazaki Shrine Grand Festival the weekend after 26 October

Chains well with

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