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MIYAZAKI |
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A breezy, semitropical city on the southeast coast of Kyushu,
MIYAZAKI claims the longest sunshine hours in Japan. Its brightly
coloured blooms and phoenix palms, the city's emblems, giving the
streets a relaxed, summery feel. The sights are a little thin on the
ground - a historic shrine, municipal park and the world's largest
indoor beach - but Miyazaki makes a good base for exploring the Nichinan
coast . A short train ride south, the island of Aoshima is a natural,
subtropical garden ringed by platforms of heavily scored rocks, while
further along the coast Udo-jingu's main shrine nestles in a sacred
cave. From here you can continue down the peninsula to Cape Toi , or
turn inland to circle round via Obi , an attractive castle town with a
passable collection of museums and old houses. Aya , to the northwest of
Miyazaki, is another pleasant town, worth visiting for its reconstructed
castle and lively art scene.
Miyazaki's festivals are launched on January 15 with a dip in the sea
off Aoshima to pray for the coming year. While north Japan is still
wrapped in snow, in mid-March the city's flower festival announces the
arrival of spring, but the most important event is autumn's Miyazaki-jingu
Taisai (last weekend in Oct). This takes the form of a costume parade in
honour of Emperor Jimmu, Japan's first emperor, featuring women dressed
in gorgeous wedding kimono.
The City
Central Miyazaki's wide boulevards and colourful shopping arcades, as
well as its compact, boisterous entertainment district, make it an
appealing stop on the tour round Kyushu. Though they won't appear on
anyone's must-see list, the city's sights are sufficiently interesting
to fill a leisurely day, particularly if you're keen to relax on its
tropical indoor beach, the Ocean Dome at Seagaia . If this doesn't
appeal, there's a clutch of more conventional sights scattered around
the city. In the northern suburbs, Heiwadai-koen is a hill-top park with
a delightful collection of clay haniwa figurines - replicas of statues
found in ancient burial mounds. The grounds of nearby Miyazaki-jingu ,
the city's foremost shrine, contain a good municipal museum and there's
a sleek new art museum nearby, while the station area boasts the
entertaining Miyazaki Science Centre . Much is made of the riverside
Tachibana park; by day it's just a narrow strip of green with a few
tables and chairs, but comes into its own at dusk, when the palm trees
glitter with fairy lights.
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