Miyazaki

Miyazaki (宮崎) is the prefectural capital of Miyazaki prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan.

Understand
Miyazaki is a tourism and resort area in southern Kyushu. It is not to be confused with the legendary Japanese animator and filmmaker, Hayao Miyazaki.

Tourist information site
The local tourist association has a multilingual guide site.

By plane
Buses connect the airport to the main Miyazaki station in 25 minutes (¥400), while the JR Miyazaki Airport Line runs 1-2 trains per hour to Minami-Miyazaki station (¥340). If you are under 21, you can get cheaper tickets.

By train
Most people will take the Kirishima limited express which makes multiple daily runs from Kagoshima (2-2½ hours, ¥4100).

If you connect to the Shinkansen in Kagoshima, it is another 2 hours for Hakata to Kagoshima (2½ hours from Kukura). You can take a single Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Kagoshima in 4½-5 hours.

Another option, the more scenic route, from Kokura station in Kitakyushu, the first stop in Kyushu on the San'yo Shinkansen, is to take the Sonic limited express to Oita or Beppu and transfer to the Nichirin limited express (¥8300). A few Nichirin trains run from Kokura or Hakata in Fukuoka directly to Miyazaki, with no change of trains necessary, but most people that take this route like to stop to see Beppu. The route is about 5 hours which is about the same as the Shinkansen route from Kokura. The overnight service, the Dream Nichirin, was discontinued in 2011.

There is no charge for the above services with a Japan Rail Pass, and there is a JR All Kyushu Pass that covers all routes as well, aside from the reference to the Shinkansen in Kokura and beyond. The Kyushu Shinkansen stops at Hakata; Hakata to Shin-Osaka (including Kokura) is owned by JR West, so you would need a JR West Pass for that section.

A highway bus operated by JR Kyushu runs to Miyazaki from the Shin-Yatsushiro bullet train station. The "B&S Miyazaki" (B&S for Bus and Shinkansen) operates once per hour, timed with the arrival of the bullet trains from Fukuoka. The bus trip takes just over 2 hours from Shin-Yatsushiro at a cost of ¥4,150 each way. The overall journey from Fukuoka to Miyazaki will be shortened to just over 3 hours using this train/bus combination. The bus is not valid with the Japan Rail Pass, but bus tickets can be purchased at any JR Midori-no-Madoguchi seat reservation counter.

By bus
Hourly buses run from Fukuoka to Miyazaki in about 4½ hours at a cost of ¥6000. Buses also run hourly from Kumamoto. There are 7 buses per day from Kagoshima, 6 buses from Beppu, Oita, and Nobeoka, and 2 buses per day from Nagasaki. Fukuoka is the only place that has night buses to Miyazaki. All others leave and arrive the same-day.

By ferry
Miyazaki Car Ferry runs an overnight ferry service from Kobe to Miyazaki. The ferry departs at 19:10 on Monday to Saturday and 18:00 on Sunday, arrives at Miyazaki at 08:40. A second class bunk bed costs ¥15,320.

Get around
The attractions in Miyazaki are rather spread out. Trains can help you reach some of the city's sites. Aoshima Shrine is a short walk away from Aoshima Station and Miyazaki-Jingu Station provides quick access to Miyazaki Jingu, the Prefectural Museum of Nature and History, and the Prefectural Art Museum. The train timetables, particularly on the Nippo Line can be inconvenient with trains operating only once per hour at certain times of the day.

The city buses tend to be the best way to get around. Many buses leave from Miyazaki Station, but it is sometimes faster to walk 10 minutes down Route 25 to the intersection with Route 220. A lot of buses travel down that street but not to the station. There is a Tourist Information Center within Miyazaki Station with bus timetables and the staff can help you figure out if walking to another stop will be faster than taking a bus from the station.

See








Do
Miyazaki is one of the most famous places for surfing in Japan. Lots of foreigners visit it during the summer. There are good waves and the sunset is beautiful.



Eat
Miyazaki is famous for its "Chicken Nanban" dish. The basic dish consists of fried chicken topped with tartar sauce. It is typically coupled with salad or spaghetti. The other famous food in the city (and prefecture) is mangoes. When in season, you can purchase whole mangoes at markets, but there are also restaurants that serve mango parfaits and desserts for you to try.







Drink
"Kurokirishima" is a famous Miyazaki shochu. Miyazaki produces lots of kinds of shochu, so for people who like Japanese shochu, Miyazaki is a good place to visit. However, some of them are expensive, so you can not buy them so easily.

In the town of Aya, which is around 20 km from Miyazaki City proper, there is a complex called the Aya Shusen-no-mori. There is a winery, beer brewery and shochu distillery all on-site. The beer made here is German-style, and of a high standard. The Shusen-no-mori brewery makes a Bock, a Koelsch, an Altbier and a blueberry-flavoured lager. The beer is far superior to the macro-brewed Japanese lagers such as Asahi Super Dry or Kirin Lager. The wine from the Shusen-no-mori winery, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired.



Sleep
The best hotels in Miyazaki City are the Kanko Hotel, in the city centre by the river, and the Sheraton, in the Seagaia complex surrounded by a golf course around 8 km north-east of the city centre. The prices of these luxury hotels are comparable to those of five-star hotel chains in any large Western country.

A cheap place to sleep, on the other hand, is a manga coffee shop and internet cafe. Manga Kissa is beside the 7-Eleven near the Miyazaki train station. There is also a "Cybac" internet cafe in Miyazaki which is slightly better than the Manga Kissa - it is difficult to find, so get a taxi from the train station. It should cost around ¥1000.

Go next

 * Nichinan
 * Miyakonojo
 * Kiyotake
 * Kunitomi
 * Saito
 * Nojiri
 * Aya
 * Shintomi
 * Takachiho