We boarded the Nichinan train at Miyazaki station and took the train to Nichinan station. The train we took left at 11am, as it was a Sunday and there were less trains running. The ride took almost two hours in a super local one car train. We sat in a four chair configuration and put the window down a bit to watch the lovely scenery go by, from bright golden fields full of crops to lush jungle landscapes, reminiscent of a jungle in Ubud. The train cost was completely covered by our JR pass.

From Nichinan station we waited for the bus to the coastal caves. The bus stop was directly in front of the station, and there was a little bench. A little old lady came over to us and gave us some oranges that she had grown. She took the oranges from her rucksack and presented us with six of them!! We thanked her profusely and then tried one each. The flavour was so fresh and sour, but sweet. The best orange I have ever had! 

We tapped on to the bus with our Suica cards and rode the 20 minute bus ride to Udo Jinju Shrine. The bus ride was wild!! The bus curved along the vast Nichinan coast line, as the ocean zipped by. It was a windy day, so the waves were huge! The rock formations were crazy too! We saw three brave surfers on the rocky coast line, trying to catch a massive wave despite the obstacles of the jagged rocks. 

We got off the bus at Udo Jinjo and checked when the next bus back to Miyazaki was, as we didn’t want to get stuck there (with less buses on Sunday). It seemed that we would have two full hours at the shrine before the bus back to Miyazaki, which seemed sufficient. We walked to the entrance and began climbing stairs. There was tropical plant life all around, with lots of flowers. This trip had really been a different Japan experience for us, way more tropical and summery in the far south. We climbed for ten minutes and found ourselves in front of a tunnel. The crazy coastal winds were whipping through the tunnel and it made it very hard to walk. On the other side of the tunnel we then descended to the coast, an equal number of steps and slopes, until we made it to a gift shop, a shrine shop and the rocky crazy coast. There was a giant sign with a dragon. The dragon is likely to do with the legend of the mythical birth of the Emperor Jimmu’s father. There are stories of ladies turning into dragons as well, so I am unsure. Couples who want painless childbirth and happy marriages often come to visit this shrine. The temple runs along the side of the rock face and there are even shrines within the rock face, giving the temple the name of “Coastal Caves’. 

We visited a little side shrine with vermilion torii gates. The waves were so insane, and all the palm trees along the coast were blowing at almost sideways angles. We wound our way along the coast taking many photos and discovering many small rabbit statues. Eventually we made it to a small orange bridge and then a set of steep stone steps leading to the shrine and the cave. Along the coast there is a small stone with a rope circle on it. You can pay 200 Yen and throw small clay stones called undama, aiming to get your clay stone within the rope. Women throw with their right hand and men with their left. You get 5 stones for 200 Yen and if you get your stone within the rope, your wish will be granted. I got three stones on the rock, but they all bounced out of the roped off area to fall along the cliffs. I usually throw with my left hand, so I found it difficult to throw right handed. 

We then explored the cave shrine which was neatly wedged in the rock face. The colourful red temple was adorned with different types of dragons and there were rabbit ema (prayer tiles) and a rabbit shrine. I purchased a rabbit ema and wrote a wish on it. We then made the long trek back to the bus stop where we waited in a long line for the bus. They sent two buses thankfully, so that no one had to stand, as that would have been difficult to do on the steep zig zagging roadway back to Miyazaki. The bus trip back to Miyazaki took one hour and 39 minutes. The bus ride was rocky and intense! The lady beside me was drinking a can of beer… We arrived back at our accommodation at about 5pm. 

Jives and I rested for a bit in the room before heading out to try to find some dinner. A few places had vegetarian options, but Harith was not feeling adventurous after the long day, so he went to Lawsons to get food to eat back in the room. Jives and I returned to the izakaya we had gone to the night before called “Hareumi”. We were seated at the counter this time. We ordered the spicy cucumbers, pumpkin tempura, salmon sushi, tuna steaks and a weird tofu fish thing with tomato, as well as two beers. The total came to 5000 Yen, less than the day before. We then retreated to the room to have a Kombini beverage before bed at 9pm.