Full-day tour from Fukuoka: Takachiho Gorge & Amano Iwato Shrine
Last updated: August 25, 2026
A full-day tour from Fukuoka to Takachiho Gorge, where the Gokase River narrows between sheer basalt cliffs and Manai Falls pours straight into the ravine. You can row beneath the falls when the boats are on the water, then ride the open-sided Amaterasu Railway cart high over the valley on the old rail line. The afternoon follows Japan's founding myths from Takachiho Shrine to the Amano Yasukawara cave, where the gods are said to have gathered while the sun goddess hid away, before the long drive back to Hakata Station.
Itinerary
Departure
- Start point: Lawson at Oriental Hotel Fukuoka (Hakata Station)
- Stop at: Takachiho Gorge
- Stop at: Takachiho Amaterasu Railway (Small Train)
- Stop at: Takachiho Shrine
- Stop at: Amano Yasukawara
- End point: Lawson at Oriental Hotel Fukuoka (Hakata Station)
Frequently Asked Questions
From the Lawson at the Oriental Hotel Fukuoka Hakata Station, a one-minute walk from Hakata Station's Chikushi Exit, returning to the same spot in the evening. Takachiho sits deep in the mountains on the Miyazaki side of Kyushu, so the tour does the long drive there and back for you.
Rowboats glide along the narrowest stretch of the gorge, right beneath Manai Falls and the towering basalt columns — each boat carries a single group, so you take to the water with your own party. The boats depend on river conditions and can be suspended after heavy rain; the clifftop promenade above the gorge is spectacular either way.
An open-sided sightseeing cart run by the Takachiho Amaterasu Railway along the town's preserved former rail line, rolling out of the old station and across a bridge high above the valley. The scenery changes completely with the seasons, which is what makes it such a photogenic ride.
A riverside cave — the "Cave of Admiration" (Gyobo-ga-iwaya) — where, in Japan's founding myth, the eight million gods gathered to lure the sun goddess Amaterasu out of hiding. It is reached by a short walk along the Iwato River from Amano Iwato Shrine, past thousands of stone cairns stacked by visitors making wishes.