We’re in Miyazaki, one of the least populated and most remote prefectures in Japan.
Being mountainous, undeveloped, and out of the way,
Miyazaki is hands down one of the best places to get lost in the beauty of Japan’s natural landscapes.
Hey guys! Today thanks to Odigo we’re here at Takachiho Gorge in Miyazaki prefecture
and unfortunately the water level’s a little too high so we can’t do the boat riding today,
but we’re gonna explore this beautiful gorge. Let’s go.
This gorge is famous for its beauty, but also its geology.
The jointed column walls of this gorge were formed 90,000 years ago from the volcanic eruption of Mt. Aso,
which actually also just erupted earlier this month,
although there were no major geographic changes this time.
They also have a bunch of pretty cool wildlife here.
What the heck is this?! Jun, what is it?!?!
Kamikiri-mushi (Longhorn beetle)
WHAT IS IT?!
Don't touch it.
Does it bite?
If you touch him, maybe.
EUUGUHHH IT'S SO BIG
He has a pretty damn strong jaw so you can bleed easily.
OKOKOKOK LET'S GO
Leaving now!
He can... break the branch.
WOAH
These aren't koi. What are these?
These are sturgeon, aka butterfly sharks in Japanese.
These are the fish that produce caviar,
and supposedly that’s what these are being grown for.
Feeding fail
YAHHHH
Nope.
I can't tell if they care or not.
Dude, buddy.
You're awesome.
Bug catching is really popular in Japan,
and apparently among dragonfly catchers here it’s common knowledge
that you can hypnotize dragonflies by spinning your finger in a circular motion.
Because their eyes see through thousands of overlapping facets,
the motion of the finger supposedly confuses them
and they’re unable to tell which direction the hand is coming from.
There's a butterfly tornado here for some reason.
What??
What is this?
I didn’t know it at the time, but these butterflies are doing something called “mud-puddling”.
They’re sucking up the liquids in the mud in order to gain various nutrients, salts, and amino acids.
While they look cute here, butterflies have also been known to puddle on
rotten fruit,
dung,
carrion,
human sweat,
and rarely, even tears
and blood.
Aww so cute BLOOD SUCKING DEMON
The Aya Teruha Suspension bridge is 142 meters high and 250 meters long,
and connects a nature center with basically nothing,
although there is a small shrine and pilgrimage trail on the other side,
which is not worth climbing the mountain in summer to see, TRUST ME I DID IT.
REALLY?!
[heavy breathing]
THIS IS ALL THERE IS?!
[more heavy breathing]
IT'S FRICKING SMALL
This area is meant to help people feel closer to nature,
and they encourage you to study the wildlife,
which includes weird goats-
huehue I wanna find a weird goat.
-and blood-sucking worms.
Oh hey.
Yeah?
They have hiru--
--the worm that sucks your blood.
NOOO NOHOHOHOOO
Oh, they force you to step on the grating at some point.
Okay. Okay.
If you insist.
You can see a massive shadow from the bridge down there.
Chris is not okay with heights.
The bridge is swaying.
YES
Udo Jingu is a shrine built into a cliffside cave.
The long path to the shrine was supposedly built by travelers
who individually brought stones from the port over the course of several hundred years.
You can see how the center stones are worn down
from so many people walking on them.
It's too hot to resist.
Jun's getting me strawberry shaved ice.
I need the ice inside my body.
Thank you!
The legend of the shrine says a man married Toyotama-hime,
the daughter of the Dragon King of the Ocean.
When she was in the cave giving birth he entered and saw her true form,
which was some sort of water monster.
And because she was revealed she had to go back to the ocean,
but she... umm...
she left behind her breast to feed her son
which is now a rock in the cave
from which water drips
and if you drink the cave boob water, it’s supposed to help you with childbirth.
Jun, it looks like we can throw more stones into the rock.
You need to make it stay in the circle. Are you up for it?
The men are supposed to use their left hand and the women are supposed to use their right hand.
Good for you Jun, you're left-handed!
But when I do sports I use my right hand.
Oh, really?
To throw. Left hand to hit.
I think that would be too easy for you anyway so you need the handicap.
What?
It's just right there.
Oh, look! There's so many stones.
Okay, we gotta do it.
All right!
Let's go see if we'll get some luck!
Go Jun, you can do it!
You are our best hope.
Close!
It just breaks apart.
All of yours hit inside. They just didn't stay.
I'm done. Sorry.
Good luck, Rachel!
Okay!
Oh, you got it in! OH YAY!
Yay!
AHH I got two!
Yaaay!
You got two in, so one for me. Thank you.
Sorry, that one was really far off.
It's okay! I got enough for both of us!
YAY HIGH FIVE
YEAH
If you want to visit the places we went today,
or find other spots in Japan to visit,
Check out Odigo Travel.
It's a free website that helps you plan your trip to Japan.
Check the description box for links!