Discover The Region of Takachiho

In this region covered by dense forests, where flat land is scarce, people have made a living with using conifers for timber, broadleaves for shiitake mushrooms, producing high-quality beef, farming tea and growing rice on terraced paddies.

To ensure a continuous supply of water to maintain this high-altitude agriculture on a sloping land, a mountainside aqueduct spanning 500km was built. Rainwater is for farming but also for protecting neighbouring villages from disasters.

One of the countless pristine footpaths you can enjoy in Takachiho

A Region with century old traditions

Kagura is a traditional Shinto dance performed as a prayer for good crops. This tradition has been passed down generations and is still practised across most settlements in the area. People who live on these steep mountains cherish this performance; they see it as a chance to ask for stability in their daily lives.

Footpaths for your pleasure

Footpaths find their origins in Britain: as the name suggests, they are strolling paths. It can be an ancient village path, weaving its way between rice fields or go past a garden – places where you can feel a connection with life and culture.

What is forest therapy?

Forest Therapy®” is a research-based practice supporting the healing of individuals through the immersion inside forests. The name is taken from the Japanese art of “Shin-rin-yoku” which translates to “Forest Bathing”.

Forest Therapy®
http://www.fo-society.jp/therapy/cn45/index_en.html

In 2006, Hinokage Town became one of the first sites in Kyushu to receive the official recognition. A variety of activities are carried out here.

Enjoy The Many Activities With Local People

Pre-dating the introduction of rice growing to Japan, Shiiba village is one of Japan’s leading areas for slash-and-burn agriculture done in harmony with nature, and the cultivation of grains since ancient times.

Every August, many people gather to join the burning, don’t misse this unforgettable experience in Japan !

Unforgettable Homestay Experience

Different from a “ryokan” or “minshuku”, “minpaku” are simple lodgings that forest workers run in their own homes. When staying here, you can experience the farmers’ work and learn how to cook local recipes.

While living off the land, you will also understand the locals’ way of life along with their techniques and knowledge, experience a charming countryside, not to mention truly appreciate the beauty of nature and the value of life.

What they say

The fact that you can see things that aren’t in Tokyo nor in cities, as well as things you wouldn’t be able to see in ordinary sightseeing is very appealing for someone who has come to Japan many times.

It was amazing to drink spring water directly from the source or river, as this is impossible in Thailand. Because of this clean natural spring water, the taste of rice is super good, it is a totally different taste from normal rice elsewhere in Japan.

Takachiho Gorge is a MUST-see place, so cool and perfect for Instagram and other SNS

Ms. Kanlaya Ngamkum
Thai culinary specialist

Takachiho-Shibayama GIAHS

The Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) is a project that was started in 2002 by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.

The objective of GIAHS is to protect and conserve outstanding agricultural heritage systems and pass them on to the next generation. The program recognizes sites around the world, and has registered 50 sites in 20 countries as of April 2018.

On the Takachihogo-Shiibayama Site, “the composite management system of agriculture and forestry” was registered as a GIAHS in December of 2015. In this region covered by dense forests, where flat land is scarce, people have made a living with using conifers for timber, broadleaves for shiitake mushrooms, producing high-quality beef, farming tea and growing rice on terraced paddies.

In Japanese mythology, the area is said to be a place when the nation’s founders descended from Heaven, and it is steeped in various myths and legends. There is a cultural tradition known as kagura, a Shinto dance performed to pray for a good harvest.

For more information you can visit here and here.

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Spring Footpath Schedule

  Walking around the World Agricultural heritage site Walking around Takachiho Town and Shiiba Mountain area in the north of Miyazaki Prefecture, which has...

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