Miyazaki, (Aburatsu) Japan

Miyazaki is located on the southernmost island of Kyushu and offers one of the warmest climates in Japan. To get there, we docked at the port of Aburatsu. Today’s temperature was forecasted to be approximately 26° with light rain.
As we pulled into port, there were enormous mountains of wood chips from trees that they plant and harvest every 50 years. Our guide didn’t know what the chips were used for. Our drive to our first stop was alongside the mountainous edge of the island with the mountain on the left and on the right, and sometimes far below, the pounding Pacific Ocean. Dramatic rock features, and the occasional group of surfboarders enjoying the vigorous waves kept us entertained.
Our first stop was at the Miyakoh Botanical Garden Aoshima. It was a very peaceful setting as we wandered the paths lined with many indigenous and exotic plants and huge glassed-in greenhouses that we walked through and observed the wide variety of plants and trees. The stone Lion Fountain was in one of the buildings, to recognize that Miyazaki and Singapore are twin cities. The iconic Lion, called Merlin, that guards the entrance to the Singapore harbour is a well known symbol for Singapore.
From the garden, we were able to walk to Aoshima, a tiny island with a circumference of only 1.5 miles. We got to the island via a short walking bridge/path through a granular sand and crushed shell beach, surrounded by what is called the Devil’s Washboards. These were formed some 65 million years ago by compacted alternating levels of sedimentary rock. They were dramatically tilted at about 15° angle as a result of the movement of the earth’s crust and then eroded by the action of the waves that shaped the rocks to look today a bit like washboards. The island has about 4300 Biro (pine) trees some 350 years old. There was a Shinto gate dramatically painted in the usual red colour. We walked out to the Aoshima Shrine and saw the gates with the stone sculptures of guardian lions and dogs at the entrance to keep evil spirits away. Walking back to the bus I counted at least 100 surfers enjoying the huge waves.
Our next stop was to see the Udo Jingu shrine dedicated to the father of Jimmu, the mythical first emperor of Japan, dating back 2600 years ago. The shrine is located along the Udozaki coastline and is built into a cave with a magnificent view overlooking the ocean and unusual rock formations .The Shrine is said to possess beneficial properties such as bestowing good fortune on newlyweds. There are a few legends concerning Emperor Jimmu and this cave, although it is unclear whether he was born here or visited here as a baby. However, the one thing the stories have in common are the breast shaped rocks in the cave wall which are said to have nourished him. The Ochichi Iwa dripping stone structure got its unique name from a myth involving Toyotama-Hime — the daughter of the god of the sea, who gave birth in this cave. During childbirth, she asked her husband to refrain from looking at her non-human form, but he looked anyway which resulted in her needing to return home to her father and leave her family behind. Before she left, she removed her breasts and stuck them onto the walls of the Udo Jingu cave — in order to let her children remember her when they grew up. Now, the water that drips from the Ochichi Iwa is used to make a local confectionary called Ochichi-Ame; which is believed to improve the production of breast milk for expectant mothers and bring good luck to those trying to start a family. Also, drinking the water that drips from these rocks is thought to be beneficial for pregnancy, childbirth, nursing and women hoping to have a child. ( I didn't make this up).
Outside the cave is a terrace overlooking the ocean. Among the rocks below is Turtle Rock, a rock that only vaguely looks like a turtle with a slight hollow in it's shell, which is a target, marked by rope. into which people try to throw small ceramic undama, or lucky balls (available at the shrine of course, for a small fee). Women throw with their right hand while men throw with their left, and landing an undama in the target brings good luck.
Inside the cave, there was the Nade-Usagi Patting Rabbit Statue. This rabbit is said to have been a servant to the gods of the shrine. Patting the rabbit statue is believed to bring you good fortune and good health. Outside, on the path leading to the shrine, there are many smaller stone statues of rabbits. Rabbits are a symbol of fertility, in keeping with the popularity of the shrine as a place to pray for fertility and healthy children.
The notes for this excursion mentioned a fair amount of walking. They did not however, nor did the guide, tell us that there were a series of very steep, high rise steps going up and then back down to the cave. My guess is that there were at least 100 of these steps going each way. On the way to the cave, it was drizzling slightly, but on the way back we were caught in a downpour. Fortunately we had our rain jackets which Lee had just waterproofed before leaving for the trip. Our guide did not have a jacket, or an umbrella and he was drenched. There was some discussion about whether we wanted to return to the ship or continue onto the planned lunch and the vote was to go onto the planned lunch. While we were expecting Japanese food, we did not expect it to be served in the true Japanese style of eating, which required us to contort our aging bodies to sit on the floor. Many pillows were requested! The food was excellent, and it was quite an experience.
Back to the ship in time to change, see the dockside send-off by some locals (considerably smaller than anything we had seen before) and down to the Constellation Theatre for the captains farewell party. The captain made his remarks, which were followed by a music and dance show put on by the crew of the ship, from the laundry, galley, engine room, cabin crew, food servers, etc. It was a very lively performance. The singing and dancing talent of these non professional crew members was extraordinary, and the audience gave them roaring rounds of applause in appreciation.
Dinner was at the Compass Rose and we shared a table with a couple from Minnesota, who lived on a farm. Philip and Marianne Kanning, he was a judge and she was a family doctor (see address info at end of blog) . We learned at the end of the dinner that they were celebrating their anniversary and the dining room servers brought in a cake. After dinner we enjoyed another energetic production by the Explorer Production company, and off to bed.
The Captain advised that we would experience rolling seas overnight but while we felt the effect, it did not bother us and we both slept well.Read more