Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [577]
Sleeping & Eating
Takachiho has over 30 hotels, ryokan, minshuku and pensions. Every place in town can be booked out during peak holiday periods.
Many visitors just eat at their ryokan or minshuku, but Takachiho also has plenty of yakitori-ya where you can order kappo-zake (local sake heated in bamboo stalks).
Takachiho Youth Hostel (72-3021; 5899-2 Mitai, Takachiho; dm HI member/nonmember ¥2800/3400; ) About five minutes’ walk from old Amano-Iwato Station, this large hostel is clean and efficient. Breakfast is available.
Yamatoya Ryokan (72-2243; fax 72-6868; r per person with 2 meals ¥8000-15,000; ) All rooms are traditional ryokan style, and there’s helpful English-speaking staff. Look for the masked iwato kagura dancer painted on the front.
Folkcraft Ryokan Kaminoya (72-2111; www.kaminoya.jp/english.html; r with 2 meals from ¥9975; ) Down from the bus station in the centre of Takachiho, this ryokan has a definite folky feel, spacious rooms and shuttered windows. Look for the woodwork and whitewashed facade.
Young Echō (72-4948; dishes from ¥600; breakfast, lunch & dinner; ) This cheery eatery near the old station has an English menu, a mix of Western and Japanese foods, free internet terminal and an outdoor summer beer garden, open from 5pm to 10pm. The carbonara pasta for ¥740 is cheap and cheerful
Chiho-no-ie (; 72-2115; meals from ¥500; lunch) Serves seasonal regional treats and sōmen-nagashi (¥600) – catch tasty noodles with your chopsticks as they float by in halved bamboo rafts. It’s a three-storey building on the corner with a red awning.
Onoroko Chaya (; 72-3931; meals from ¥500; lunch & dinner). Nestled among trees, outdoor tables beneath traditional red lanterns set the scene. Sōmen-nagashi is ¥500 here, or try the masu-zushi (trout sushi) for ¥800.
Getting There & Around
Since the JR Takachiho line closed in 2008, the only way in and around is by road. You can walk to the gorge and Takachiho-jinja, but other sights are some distance from town.
The Miyakō Bus Centre is the new transport hub. Buses run to Takamori (¥1280, 1¼ hours, three daily) and Kumamoto (¥2300, 2¾ hours). Regular tours leave from here; the ‘A Course’ (¥2000) covers everything, while the ‘B Course’ (¥1500) skips Amano Iwato-jinja.
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ŌITA-KEN
In Japan, Ōita prefecture is synonymous with onsen. The tourist mecca of Beppu and the traditional town of Yufuin are here. The region also bears traces of Japan’s earliest civilisations, on the Kunisaki Peninsula.
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USUKI
0972 / pop 43,051
Just outside Usuki is a superb collection of thousand-year-old Buddha images (; 65-3300; admission ¥530; 8.30am-4.30pm), although some of the magic is lost in the tourist-trap ambience. Four clusters comprising 59 images lie in a series of niches in a ravine. Some are complete statues, whereas others have only the heads remaining.
Usuki has several temples and well-preserved traditional houses. On the last Saturday in August, the town hosts a fire festival, and other festivities are held throughout the year; ask for details at the tourist information office (64-7130; 8.30am-5pm) adjacent to Usuki Station. There’s free internet at Sala de Usuki (; 64-7271).
Local restaurants boast the best fugu in Japan; expect to pay about ¥8000 for a dinner set, including sake.
The town of Usuki is 40km southeast of Beppu. Take the JR Nippō line to Usuki Station (tokkyū; ¥1430, 55 minutes), from where it’s a 20-minute bus ride to the ravine site. Bikes can also be rented free from Usuki Station (63-8955).
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BEPPU
0977 / pop 126,781
Despite the hype, or because of it, Beppu is at first a little disappointing, but has a charm that grows on you. Quaint yet crowded, modern meets traditional, Beppu remains a place where people come to escape, historically to the pleasure district or the literally