Hyuga日向

A cape with exposed rock formations and a natural harbor. A town with mud walls and stone pavements.

Hyuga is a bay city, located in the northern part of Miyazaki Prefecture and facing the Sea of Hyuga. The city has thrived as the gateway of Kyushu to the sea. The whole area along Cape Hyuga with its many exposed rocks has been designated as Nippo-Kaigan Quasi-National Park; south are beach resorts, such as Ise-ga-hama and Okura-ga-hama. Hosojima is a natural good harbor, and has thrived for centuries.

Umagase, at the top of Cape Hyuga, is a precipitous cliff of pillar-like rocks, towering as high as 70 meters, and commands an excellent view of the waves below breaking against the rocks on both sides of the waterway and sending up sprays of water, 200 meters long and 10 meters wide. If you go further toward the ocean with Umagase at your back, you can enjoy an unobstructed panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean from the tip of the cape.

The Mimitsu area in the city has been designated a national important preservation district for groups of historic buildings, and much of the 19th-century atmosphere, including traditional buildings, earthen walls, and stone pavements, remains. There are some points worthy of note you can observe inside, including the Hyuga City History and Folk Museum (which used to be a shipping agency), the Mimitsu-ken (which used to be a townsperson's house), and the Mimitsu Machinami Center (which used to be a shop dealing in fabrics for kimono). Mimitsu is a port town with an old history, and is said to be the spot according to legend that Emperor Jinmu, the first emperor, embarked from for Nara to unify the nation.