One Day in Miyazaki

Continuing our whirlwind tour of Kyushu, we departed Kagoshima on the Kirishima Limited Express for Miyazaki.

The trip was beautiful and Sakurajima popped in and out of view for a surprisingly long time. Luckily we booked seats on the scenic ocean side, seats A and B.

We arrived at Miyazaki station in about two hours. Unfortunately we were there on a Sunday, the day of the week that many restaurants and cafes are closed.

Luckily Oyodo River Miyachiku, one of the top restaurants for Miyazaki wagyu (Japanese beef) teppanyaki, is open all week. It’s very popular, so make sure to book ahead. Teppanyaki refers to food cooked on a teppan, or iron plate. Our chef was excited to see tourists following Japan’s reopening. We communicated in Japanese, but he said that he has communicated with visitors from all over the world through smart phone translation apps.

The salad course was a fusion of Japanese and French. The beautifully crisp vegetables complimented the meat terrine and refreshing yuzu dressing.

During the salad course the chef presented the ingredients and started preparing the meal. Our meal also included a creamy mushroom soup, three cuts of A5 wagyu, grilled vegetables, fried rice with wagyu, garlic, and shiso, Japanese pickles and soup. After eating half the fried rice, the chef asks if you would like to finish it as ochazuke (rice with dashi broth or tea).

Of course the wagyu was the star of the show. It was perfect on its own and went well with the selection of sweet soy sauce, onion tare sauce, Miyazaki red salt, wasabi, and garlic chips. The chef served the wagyu on a slice of shokupan (Japanese milk bread). He advised us not to eat it because it would be our dessert.

Sure enough when we finished the meat, the chef put the bread on the grill with plenty of butter, and dusted with powdered sugar. It was served with caramel mousse topped with raspberry coulis and yuzu sorbet. The meat flavor that soaked into the bread provided a hint of umami and salt that complimented the sweetness.

Following lunch we took a local train to Aoshima, an island accessible by pedestrian bridge.

The island is surrounded by unusual rows of rock formations known as Oni no Sentakuita, or “Devil’s Washboard.” The rocks are visible at low tide.

Aoshima-jinja is located in the middle of the island. The shrine is a lucky spot for couples. Miyazaki is no longer the major honeymoon destination that it was in the 1960s, but the island is still a popular place for newly married couples.

The shrine sits in a tropical forrest in the middle of the island.

The tunnel of ema (wishing tablets) through the tropical forrest is popular with Instagrammers.

There are also heart ema by the beach.

Couples are supposed to jointly wish for a good relationship here. We were busy taking pictures and didn’t think to try it, but I think we will be okay.

Miyazaki is known for mangos and fruit parfaits, but all the popular places in the city were closed on Sunday. The mainland area around Aoshima had several stands selling mango ice cream and shaved ice. We were still full from lunch, but decided to try the mango juice. It was nice and refreshing after our walk around the island.

Miyazaki chicken is famous in Japan, but all the restaurants I wanted to try were closed on Sunday night. We finally found Rakui which turned out to be part of a chain with a lot of different types of restaurants. This caused some confusion as we went to two locations in the station before finding the place outside the east exit where we had reservations. We tried local shochu, fresh tofu, a tuna and avocado salad, and a few grilled chicken skewers.

We were most excited to try the two most famous local chicken dishes. The nanban was fried chicken with a sauce similar to the special sauce on a Big Mac without the pickle. It still had a sufficient kick of vinegar.

The jidori chicken was intensely chargrilled in a good way. It was served with yuzu kosho, a yuzu and pepper paste. The food was fine and I was glad we were able to try the local specialties, but I will definitely return to Miyazaki during another time of the week.

Details

Miyazaki is less than two hours from Tokyo by plane, or 9 hours by Shinkansen (bullet train) and intercity trains. It will take one hour longer by Japan Rail pass since the fastest express trains aren’t covered. Miyazaki is a large prefecture that is hard to get around by train alone. Next time we will likely rent a car from Kumamoto or Fukuoka so we can more easily explore.

Hotels in the city were almost completely booked due to a special travel campaign during our stay. We stayed at the Richmond Hotel Miyazaki Ekimae. The Richmond Hotels are a reliable cost effective business hotel. Due to the limited availability, we ended up with a particularly small room.

Watch our video to see more of Miyazaki.