It was already past 5 in the afternoon. After coming back from Aoshima Island, I still insisted on going to another Shinto shrine. The Miyazaki Shrine is just located near the Miyazakijingu Station, one station away from Miyazaki Station.

I went to the Miyazaki shrine with my colleagues. It was in the middle of another foresty area. There were many tall trees, and to my surprise, I saw my first sakura. It was not that beautiful, but at least I saw a sakura. It was said that the sakura in Miyazaki will be in full bloom starting from the end of this week.

As we went deeper into the forest, the loud noise from the crows made the atmosphere really scary. Along the way, we found an old house that looked haunted. I think that place is a good spot for horror movies. Nearby are two statues that looked as if they were dancing.

Just a short walk inside the forest is the Miyazaki Jingu. The Miyazaki shrine is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the mythical first emperor of Japan, Emperor Jimmu. It is also dedicated to his parents, Ugayafukiaezu no Mikoto and Tamayorihime no Mikoto.

It is considered the most important shrine in Miyazaki City. It is also the oldest and is said to have been established over 2600 years ago. According to legend, the place where the present shrine stood formerly housed a palace enshrining the spirit of Emperor Jimmu. The present structure was built in 1907, and the main shrine was built with only Japanese cedar from Sano.

When we arrived, the main shrine gate was already closed. We decided to walk to the northern edge of the shrine forest to see the old Japanese houses.

The houses located near the Miyazaki Prefectural Museum are considered important cultural properties of Japan. A samurai’s house, originally from Takaharu, was built from 1834 to 1836. In the northern parts of Miyazaki, several farmhouses were built in 1787 and 1864.

We finished our trip to our last destination that day. It was about 30 minutes before the train was scheduled to arrive. It’s funny. We needed to wait for 30 minutes for the train, which would have brought us to our station in 3 minutes. This proved how remote Miyazaki City is.