Last Updated: Jul 7, 2024

Miyazaki City

Udo Jingu, Aoshima & Miyazaki Shrine

This story was originally published on donnykimball.com and has been syndicated here on Medium.

Recently, I was down in Hitoyoshi City in Kumamoto’s Kuma Valley for a creator gig. Not wanting to waste an opportunity to explore more of Kyushu, I decided to extend my time in the area and cross Miyazaki Prefecture off my “to visit” list. You see, at least as of this writing, I have still not completed all 47 prefectures. Kumamoto was one of the three I had left, so I figured I might as well also tick off Miyazaki before heading back to Tokyo. While I still need to go back for the prefecture’s iconic spots like Amano Iwato Shrine and Takachiho Gorge, I was at least able to complete Miyazaki City during this trip.

The following is a two-and-a-half-day account of everything I did and saw while in Miyazaki City. To be honest, you really only need a day to see most of the main attractions in the area, but I was taking it slow, doing some work on the go, and enjoying the local Miyazaki beef and famous charcoal-grilled chicken (as well as some hilariously expensive grown-in-Japan lychee). Though these are all treats that I suggest you savor while in Miyazaki, you can probably cram it all into less time than I did.

All in all, I’d wager that Miyazaki City isn’t a place that, in and of itself, you should travel to Kyushu just to see. At the same…