Renting a Car in Japan

When researching things to do in the Kyushu Region of Japan (the island that stretches from Fukuoka in the North to Kagoshima in the South) the thing that caught my attention the most was Takachiho Gorge. There was only problem – the only realistic way to reach it in one day was to rent a car, which I have never done in Japan. However, I had experience driving on the left side from my 2019 trip to Cape Town, South Africa and know roads are excellent in Japan, so it was worth a try. So right before leaving for Japan, I hopped onto Toyota Rental Car and made a reservation for one day, costing me only about $35. The only requirement for renting a car in Japan is to have an International Driver’s Permit, which you can get from AAA before you leave the United States for about $20. They are valid for one year, so if possible try to time it up for Japan and other international trips you have planned – a fair amount of countries actually ask for this. Otherwise, the process to pick up the car was easy and no different than anywhere else in the world. I declined the insurance, hoping if anything happened either my personal insurance or credit card would cover it. The staff at Toyota Rental Car were super friendly, spoke English, and had me on my way (in a compact Toyota, of course) in no time.

The only slight challenge with Toyota Rental Car is must of their locations (as far as I can tell) are only open from 8am to 8pm. For a day trip, just keep this in mind to plan your day. To maximize time, I booked a car from the closest major train station to Takachiho Gorge which is Kumamoto Station. From there the drive is only about 2 hours, so I scheduled my car for 9am and promised to have it back by 6pm. Therefore, I scheduled an 8am train from Kagoshima (where I was staying the night before) and booked at 7pm train from Kagoshima to Hakata (Fukuoka) where I would spend the night. The rental office at Kumamoto is directly across the entrance to Kumamoto Station, so finding it could not be easier. Literally 2 minutes from getting off the train to walking in the rental office!

I do want to note there are bus options, but they only run like twice a day, take over 4 hours, and drop off far from the gorge. It would not be fun to plan a trip to Takachiho via bus unless you plan to at least spend 1 night or else it would be super rushed and way too long of a day.

Driving to Takachiho Gorge

While the car did include a GPS in English, I still find them generally difficult to use and not as reactive to real time updates, so I used my phone and google maps for driving directions. The car only had a cigar plug for a power source, but Toyota Rental car let me use a usb cigar plug-in for the day at a no cost. The first 15 minutes of the drive were leaving Kumamoto city, and luckily in the morning around 9am there was little to no traffic getting out of the city. Driving on the left side quickly came back to me – just remember to “stay left” and look before turning right and you will be fine. Honestly the hardest part is remembering the blinker and windshield wiper controls are on opposite sides! I accidentally washed the windows a few times 🙂

Once safely out of the city, a quick highway jaunt brought us to the “country highway” that would take us all the way to Takachiho Gorge. The drive was about 1 hr 45 mins on a single lane road that was very smooth and well marked. Driving couldn’t have been easier! There was very little traffic and only a few points where the road met other small roads and I had to turn. But the google map directions and signage on the road leading to Takachiho were perfectly marked. The drive went through a few small towns with convenience stores like Family Mart, so there were plenty of chances to stop for snacks or drinks or a restroom break. Most of the road was tree covered as you ascend into the mountains around Takachiho. I even pulled over to view the cherry blossoms around one corner! Right before reaching Takachigo Gorge I made one small detour to the Kunimigaoka Viewing Platform. A small one lane road led up the mountain to a small parking lot next to this scenic viewpoint on top of the mountain, offering a view of the hills that surround Takachiho in all directions. I wish I could have been up here for sunset! After a few minutes of relaxing on the swing at the viewpoint, I made my way back down to Takachiho to access the gorge.

Exploring Takachiho Gorge

I followed my google map directions on the descent into Takachiho Gorge, where traffic controllers were directing traffic into the various parking lots. There is an upper lot that is free, but requires a lot of walking. There is a middle lot that costs 300 yen (less than $3) and is at the start of the gorge. And finally there is the bottom lot, that costs 500 yen and is closest to the end of the gorge, where you can rent a boat. The bottom lot is full, so they directed me to the middle lot. It was pretty full and quite small, but sure enough there was a spot and a friendly attendant helped me reverse in. Honestly, I’m pretty glad they parked me here, because it was at the start of the gorge. To see the whole thing you will want to walk the entire gorge anyways! Although I felt bad for the people walking down the tons of stairs from the upper parking lot, where it seemed like tourist buses dropped off.

It was a beautiful walk along the gorge, which started very narrow and was more green and lush. Above, you could see multiple bridges which we drove across to get down to the gorge. Around the corner, the gorge started to grow with taller, granite walls and rushing Gatorade-blue colored water. It was beautiful! About halfway the path had been destroyed by what look liked landsides, so we had to take a small detour up the road and back down the other side to continue along the gorge. Right after this detour was the famous site of the gorge – a viewing platform located above the tallest section of the gorge with a beautiful waterfall cascading down. It was without a doubt one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen in person. After taking it all in, the path continues to a bridge over the waterfall, where you can view it from the top down. Around the bridge we found some shops, small cafes, and the lower parking lot. And finally, at the far end of the parking lot was the office for the rowboat rentals, where you can experience the gorge on the water.

Rowing a Boat in the Takachiho Gorge

As you can see in the photos of the waterfall, you are allowed to row a boat in the gorge! However, this activity is very popular – it often sells out in advance! On a beautiful spring day like this, the wait time for walk ups was over FOUR HOURS. Luckily I had made a reservation for 1pm and didn’t have to wait at all. Reservations for row boats open up 1 week in advance, so if you plan to go to Takachiho be sure to grab one. I had no issue getting any time slot when I logged on 7 days before my planned visit, so the reservations at least seem to last for a bit before being taken. The site to make reservations is found here, with the help of google translating everything to english:

https://takachiho-kanko.info/en/boat_kagura/

Boat rentals cost ~5000 yen for 30 minutes which is a bit steep, but you can split it with up to 3 adults, or 2 adults and 2 children per boat. Traveling solo, I paid the entire 5000 yen myself but I had a brilliant idea when checking in – ask some strangers who didn’t make a reservation if they wanted to join me! It didn’t take me long to find 2 lads from Argentina who didn’t have a reservation, and they gladly paid me 1500 yen each to join. Now I had buddies to help me row and take pictures! They were super friendly and we made our way to the small boats. Life vests were provided and we waited our turn for our number to be called (just a few minutes as people got off their boats). As we boarded the workers told us to be back in 30 minutes and we were on our way.

The rowing was surprisingly challenging – it isn’t very far from the dock to the waterfall, but there was a bit of a current downstream. It took us almost 20 minutes (no joke) to reach the waterfall. When we got there it was pretty hilarious, with quite a few row boats jockeying for position and struggling to keep up the river. We even got a bit wet as boats pushed each other under the falls! Luckily it was a warm day. If you are a strong rower you can even go further up the river and then enjoy the ride down. After getting a few waterfall snaps and splashes, we rode the current back down the river and were at the dock in only 5 minutes! But if you come to Takachiho Gorge, going on the rowboats is a must. They are weather and water level dependent so there is always a risk rowing is closed, and the views of the gorge are still amazing without them, but the experience really makes for a great full day.

After my rowboat experience, I grabbed some ice cream and hiked back up to my car. Hoping to make an earlier train, I hit the road for Kumamoto around 2pm. I took a slightly different route by Mt. Aso (Japan’s largest active Volcano) and hit up a 7-11 for a late lunch (the pizza buns and chicken are delicious). Traffic however was quite brutal getting back into Kumamoto. I stopped at a gas station close to the car rental return, where the friendly worked pumped the gas for me. I was able to pay using my Suica card on my phone (Apple Wallet) which was convenient. After the traffic, I returned the car around 5pm and headed into the station. I originally booked a 7pm train, but walked up to the ticket counter and was able to get rebooked at 6pm, making for an earlier arrival into Fukuoka.

Stay tuned for the next blog to see what I did that night and how I rode the Hello Kitty Shinkansen the next day! For now, I hope this blog helps you plan a day trip to the beautiful Takachiho Gorge, easily reached via train and rental car in a day trip from either Kagaoshima or Fukuoka via Kumamoto Station.