Takachiho is famous for two things. One is a pretty river gorge, shown here from above, through which boats cruise enabling visitors to see the great scenery close up. The other is that this is supposedly the site of Japan's creation myth, in which the gods Izanami (male) and Izanagi (female) joined forces, so to speak, and created the nation of Japan. Nearby is the cave where the sun goddess Amaterasu hid and was later enticed out by the sacred mirror (which supposedly is still kept at the grand shrine of Ise) - one of the most famous tales in Japan's mythic history.

From here, it's a long downhill through the gorgeous scenery of Aso's southwestern slopes (pictured on the title page to this section), and then east across huge bridges spanning the river, to Takachiho. Along the way was this wonderful bridge across a stream (thought I had to look back to see it). Another representative photo might have been the cascading hillsides of rice paddies that you see everywhere in this region.