Walking to a waterfall

We were thrilled to ride the Kirishima Express to Miyazaki, after all those stop-and-start days! We passed familiar Hayato station once again and pressed on through the mountains to Miyazaki. On the way we also passed many ricefields ripe for harvest, while the harvested stalks were already hanging to dry in picturesque rows.

Miyazaki was not too interesting, although we walked through a little of the downtown area. We then turned back to ride to Shigetomi where we had spied a board detailing times for walks to a waterfall. We were not disappointed when we got off, as there were many helpful directions to the park, and with the help of locals on the way, we soon found ourselves enroute.

At first we had to face a barking dog indicating to us that it was the wrong way. We finally found the entrance where I found several thoughtfully left sticks to aid climbers. I was glad for that, because some of the steps were really steep. I admire Susan and Choo for being able to keep their balance! First it was an uphill trudge on rough steps to a high point to view the town and the beach that fronted it. Then it was a steep downhill to another area with a small (dirty) pond, and a short trek to a beautiful waterfall. Later we took the path to the "white clouds" and were rewarded, after a laboured walk, by a view of the coast again. Choo thought that the path downward might lead to the beach, but Susan was not keen. So we retraced our steps, anddetoured to the beach via the road.

We enjoyed the day day very much!