Day 1 Departure! From Shinagawa, take the Shinkansen Hikari to Nagoya. In Nagoya, I had a famous morning breakfast with my friend. We enjoyed the light meal that comes as an extra (not so extra) when you order a drink. After that, we visited Masashioda Shrine and visited my friend’s Kyudojo (Japanese archery) located next to the shrine. After that, we returned to Nagoya and departed for Kumamoto on the Shinkansen Hikari. At Shin-Kobe, we changed to the Shinkansen Sakura. Since we did not have much time in Kumamoto, we quickly enjoyed the atmosphere around the station and visited Kumamoto Castle, which was in the process of being rebuilt, from a distance.
Day 2 We are heading to Takachiho Gorge in Miyazaki, the main destination of this trip. We had planned to take a bus from Kumamoto, but friends who live in Kyushu decided to give us a lift by car! We enjoyed the drive while admiring the beautiful greenery, typical of the rainy season. It rained all day, but miraculously it stopped raining when we got out of the car. The rain-soaked greenery of Takachiho Gorge was dazzling, and I was completely enchanted by the mysterious nature and shrines.
Day 3 From Takachiho, take the express bus Takachiho to Nobeoka Station (passes are not available for this section). From there, you will take the express train “Chirin” and change to the express train “Sonic” at Oita to arrive at Kokura. It takes about 3.5 hours from Nobeoka to Kokura, but the view from the train window is so spectacular that I never got tired of looking out the whole way. In Kokura, we walked around Tangae Market, which was destroyed by fire in April but is now under reconstruction, and the Kokura Castle area.
Day 4: Took the Shinkansen Sakura from Kokura, then the Shinkansen Hikari at Shin-Kobe. Returned to Nagoya again to meet my friend.
Day 5: Take the rapid Mie train from Nagoya to Ise City to visit Ise Jingu Shrine. The rapid Mie train has a section of Ise Railway on the way, so a separate fare is charged only for this section. Also note that there is only one train every hour. In Ise, we rented an electric bicycle and visited Geku Shrine, Sarutahiko Shrine, Naiku Shrine, and Okage Yokocho. There is a gradual slope from the Geku to the Inner Shrine, but it was no problem for me because I was riding an electric bicycle. I was not sure if I should have taken a bus, but it was a good decision to rent a bicycle because I could go around at my leisure.
Day 6 I took the rapid Mie train from Ise-shi and got on the Shinkansen Hikari at Nagoya for Kyoto. In Kyoto, I enjoyed a rather elegant afternoon tea with a friend whom I hadn’t seen in about 15 years. In the evening, we visited Yasaka Shrine near our hotel. The shrine, with few people and lit by a dim light, was very magical.
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