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Japan’s Miyazaki Prefecture, on the westernmost main island of Kyushu, is a scenic marvel and home to beautiful beaches and mountains worthy of the myths and legends it inspires. Beyond the rolling hills and lush greenery, the prefecture is also at the center of sustainable agricultural traditions dating back hundreds of years.
Miyazaki is known for its warm temperatures and beaches, similar to those you’d find in California. Though I last visited Miyazaki about 30 years ago, the idyllic escape to Aoshima Beach and Cape Toimisaki are still fresh in my memory.
I held onto that memory during a recent mid-winter visit, which gave me a completely different picture. This Miyazaki was a freezing 18 degrees Fahrenheit with strong, dry winds howling from the mountains. This time it was more Alaska than California!
Despite the frigid temperatures, I chatted with locals and from them I learned that the warm, beautiful summers and dark, chilly winters are an important factor making Miyazaki one of Japan’s top agricultural prefectures.
Agricultural prefecture
This year, Miyazaki hosted the G7 Agricultural Ministers meeting as it ranked fifth in the country for agricultural output at 3.39 billion yen (about $25 million) in 2021.
During the summer, the prefecture produces plenty of cucumbers, bell peppers, mango, lychee and citrus fruits. In the winter, you’ll find plenty of dried mushrooms and daikon radish. The cold is also great for dairy farming, according to local farmers.
Miyazaki’s particular climate and mountainous terrain has birthed many unique agricultural traditions. Some of these include washoku dishes, mushroom drying and pan-fried tea in Takachihogo-Shiibayama, as well as Miyazaki City’s pickled sun-dried daikon.
Though the traditions continue today, Miyazaki’s farmers are also embracing technological advances to make their operations more efficient, cost-effective and adaptable to adjust to the industry for the next generation.
Beyond the beach
There is plenty to explore outside the beach resorts. Miyazaki’s landscape, local produce and dishes are incredible, and let the wonders of Takachiho Town and the northern mountainous areas enchant you.
Visiting Miyazaki is relatively easy. It takes about a 3-to-4 hours by car from Sasebo Naval Base. If you’re visiting from other cities in Japan, there are plenty of budget airline options to get you there within two hours.
1. Takachiho Town offers touch of old Japan
Takachiho Town in Miyazaki Prefecture boasts a quiet and mysterious atmosphere with thick green forests, a steep gorge with a cascading waterfall and impressive rice terraces.
According to Japan’s earliest history book Kojiki (712), Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and the queen of the celestial sphere, sent her grandson, Ninigi, to Takachiho. Ninigi then became a great-grandfather of Emperor Jinmu, the originator Japan’s imperial family.
Due to this legend and others, Takachiho used to be home to over 500 Shinto shrines. Today, you will only find a few remaining.
Takachiho Jinja, founded about 1,900 years ago, is one of the shrines you can still visit today. The Shinto shrine is surrounded by a cedar forest and is very popular due to it being considered an auspicious power spot for better luck in the agricultural industries, matchmaking and family peace.
The town is also home to two beautiful rice terraces. The Tochimata and Odonokuchi rice terraces are on the right and left side of the Iwato River, and both were selected as part of the 100 most beautiful rice terraces in Japan.
After harvesting the rice terraces around October or November, locals in each district gather to perform “Yokagura” night dancing (yo means night and kagura is sacred Shinto music and dancing). Takachiho Yokagura is theatrical dancing and music dating back nearly 1,000 years.
Takachiho’s natural beauty and dedication to preserving its cultural traditions gives it the touch of old Japan you won’t find anywhere else.
Tochimata Tanada (terraced rice paddies)
2. Takachihogo-Shiibayama full of beauty
In Miyazaki Prefecture’s northwestern end, Takachihogo-Shiibayama is home to sprawling rice terraces, intricate irrigation canals, lush forests and abundant tea leaf plantations.
The area’s distinctive ways of farming earned it recognition as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) site in 2015.One impressive agricultural feature in Takachihogo-Shiibayama is the intricate irrigation canal system spanning 500 kilometers. The extensive canals were dug in the early 20th century and provide water to the rice paddies while protecting the surrounding communities from landslides.
While you’re there, don’t miss Tochimata Tanada, designated as one of country’s most beautiful 100 rice terraces in 1999 by the Japanese government.
Nearby, the mountainous region also produces shiitake mushrooms, cultivated by sawtooth oak logs. In Gokase Town, high-quality Kamairicha tea leaves are grown and processed through a distinctive pan-frying method, giving them a sweet, crispy aroma, smooth and profound flavor, and transparent golden color. Japanese green tea leaves are usually steamed during the roasting process.
GIAHS Takachihogo – Shiibayama
3. ‘Smart livestock farming’ at Honbu Farm (Shintomi Town)
Honbu Farm in Shintomi Town currently raises about 250 dairy cows using something called a “smart livestock farming” system. The system incorporates cutting-edge information communication and robot technologies. The AI additions to the farm allow the barn’s temperature and humidity to sustain optimum levels. Monitors on the cows’ necks also help the farmers track their physical and health conditions anytime.
According to Honbu Farm director Hirohisa Honbu, the use of technology also keeps milk production steady, even in the summer months when cows tend to produce less due to the heat. The farm also has robots to feed the cows on a schedule and even to milk the cows when the system detects a cow’s udders are full.
Another benefit is the farm’s ability to use renewable energy created from methane gas emitted by manure. Starting in 2020, Honbu Farm has been generating electricity thanks to the biogas plant processing the manure. After, the manure is used as organic fertilizer in the farm’s corn and grass fields, ensuring no waste goes to waste.
Honbu Farm is an example of the future of agriculture and the ways in which farmers and technology are working together to create a more sustainable future. You can visit Honbu Farm for a guided facility tour with advanced booking. For a reservation or further information on the farm, visit its webpage.
4. Daikon yagura radish houses (Tano and Kiyotake Districts)
If you find yourself traveling around Miyazaki City during the winter months, you may come across peculiar structures covered in daikon radishes standing in the middle of vast fields.
These daikon radish houses, or Daikon Yagura, are the traditional method of drying the beloved root vegetable in Japan. The agricultural method was even designated a Japan Cultural Heritage in 2021.
The impressive radish-covered stands are about six meters high, six meters wide and stretch 150 meters long. What’s even more impressive, is these structures are made of bamboo and no nails are used to hold them together while thousands of daikon cover the exterior peaked walls to dry. Inside the structures, the daikon seemingly go on for miles, creating quite a sight.
Farmers in Miyazaki City’s Tano and Kiyotake Districts maintain the Daikon Yagura from December through February.
Radishes dry on the structure under the cold mountain wind for two weeks before being sent to the Michimoto Foods factory in Tano Town to become takuan radish pickles.
The bright yellow pickles have a punchy flavor and crunchy texture, which pair well with a traditional Japanese breakfast and as sides with lunch and dinner. The pickle is loved by many domestically and abroad, according to Michimoto Foods president Hideyuki Michimoto.
Next time you see a takuan radish pickle, you’ll know about its humble start as a daikon radish drying in the cold mountain air of Miyazaki!
5. Wagyu beef in sacred setting
Takachiho Town is known for its forest-grown shiitake mushrooms, pan-roasted tea and more. Wagyu beef is another renowned product that hails from this mountainous town. Known for its marbled texture and sublime flavor, Miyazaki’s wagyu beef is something you must try!
Head to Kagurayado, a restaurant with a souvenir shop set in Takachiho Town’s abundant landscape close to Takachiho Jinja, for a memorable, delicious steak.
As the name indicates, Kagurayado (literally, inn of kagura) accommodates a stage of Kagura (sacred theatrical Shinto dancing and music), along with a tiny museum dedicated to the area’s history and culture.
Kagurayado is housed inside a 300-year-old folk home set at the top of a steep slope illuminated with bonbori lamps. The centuries’-old interior decorated with shimenawa (sacred straw festoon) and erimono (sacred papercut decorations) did not disappoint during my visit.
The restaurant’s almost-sacred ambiance carried onto the delicious food, which was an almost-religious experience. My Takachiho wagyu beef included an “Amenomurakumogozen” set, which consisted of broiled rainbow trout, local vegetables with miso, steamed mushrooms, rice and miso soup of mountain vegetables.
I couldn’t wait any longer and dipped the perfectly medium slice into the soy sauce broth before I devoured it. The sizzling wagyu truly warmed me in the Takachiho’s chilly January temps.
The dishes that came with my set were just as delicious as the tender wagyu. The rainbow trout was crispy and paired well with the fresh miso veggies. The umami of the steamed, fresh mushrooms was a nice addition to the perfectly steamed rice. The dishes were not overly-seasoned, making them a welcome pairing to the star of the show.
The flavors and freshness of the ingredients of the meal and the ambiance at Kagurayado made for a transcendental experience. Dining at Kagurayado is available only with a reservation and advanced booking, so make sure to book ahead of your visit!
Kagurayado Location: 1254-3 Oshikata Nanpei, Takachiho Town, Nishiusuki-gun, Miyazaki Prefecture Email: info@chihonoie.jp Tel: 0982-72-2115
Quick trip from Haneda
Haneda Airport is only a 30-minute train ride from Hardy Barracks and easily accessible from other military bases in the Kanto Plain. Traveling through this airport is a quick and easy way to get you to any of the domestic destinations you want to see while stationed in Japan.
Within about a two-hour flight from Haneda, you can find yourself freezing in Hokkaido, sailing off the coast of Kyushu or even sun-bathing in Okinawa. Recent flights to a Kyushu-area airport took about 105 minutes to Oita (803 kilometer) and 110 minutes to Miyazaki (1,023 kilometer). Even getting to Osaka is about a 1-hour flight from Haneda.
Entering vacation mode via plane is worthwhile when you compare it to a 5-plus-hour drive or 3-hour Shinkansen bullet train ride.
To get to Haneda, it’s a straight shot on the Keikyu Express Train departing from Shinagawa Station in Tokyo, Yokohama Station in Kanagawa (if you’re departing from Camp Zama or NAF Atsugi) or Yokosuka Chuo Station (if you’re departing from Yokosuka Naval Base). The direct express train will take you to Haneda in 15 minutes from Shinagawa Station, 25 minutes from Yokohama Station and 50 minutes from Yokosuka Chuo station.
The train stops at both the international terminal and the domestic terminals, so check ahead to know which is your stop!
Next time you’re planning your trip, check to see if Haneda Airport offers flights to your domestic destination. It will save you some time and maybe even some money!
