Takachiho Town

A gorge's railway bridge is 105m high.

Takachiho Bridge

Photo by tataquax (CC BY-SA 2.0)

01 ／ Tsuge no Taki Limestone Cave

Gravel on the cave floor remains,as if a shelf had been laid.

柘植の滝鍾乳洞.jpg — Photo by Amekoumori (CC BY-SA 4.0)

This limestone cave in Mukoyama (向山) lies in a limestone hill, and its caves number eight, large and small. The gravel layer on the cave floor, with stalagmites and pillars still standing on it, was worn away from below by water and remains like a shelf. The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls it a valuable academic record of how groundwater routes changed.

8 caves, large and small
National natural monument, designated 1933
Gravel layer left like a shelf

02 ／ Former Tabaru Village Office

A Western-style office, its porch eavesheld by temple-style brackets.

This two-story wooden building faces east on a slope that was key to the Takachiho Okan road (高千穂往還). Its roof is half-gabled and its exterior Western in style. Yet at the entrance porch, temple-style brackets (組物) support the eaves, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as rich in both Japanese and Western design.

Built 1927
2 stories, wood, 159 sq m floor area
Registered tangible cultural property, 2014

03 ／ Iron Komainu

Komainu are often wood or stone,yet the town has two iron pairs.

Takachiho Shrine's pair is a national Important Cultural Property, made by casting in molds. Mukoyama Shrine's pair is a prefectural tangible cultural property, 43cm and 44.5cm tall, said to date from the late Kamakura period. The prefecture records that confirmed iron komainu of that era are Takachiho Shrine's pair and one at Futarasan Shrine in Tochigi.

National Important Cultural Property, designated 1971
Prefectural property, designated 2009
Mukoyama Shrine: 43cm and 44.5cm tall

Living here

188 minutes from Kumamoto, 196 from Hakata, by bus.

about 10,000 people
Rural district town

The gateway is Takachiho Bus Center. From Kumamoto Station the "Tokkyu Takachiho-go" route bus takes 188 minutes without a transfer, and from Hakata Bus Terminal the "Gokase-go" highway bus takes 196 minutes (per the operators' timetables: Kyushu Sanko Bus, Nishitetsu and Miyazaki Kotsu).

People living here: 11,642people
Area: 237.54km²
Households: 4,519households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 2 hospitals ／ 5 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —6 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Takachiho Town in Japan32.712°N 131.308°E

to KumamotoLocal bus188min
to HakataHighway bus196min

Travel times follow 九州産交バス『特急たかちほ号』時刻表（産交バス情報サイトの路線ページ https://www.sankobus.jp/bus/takachiho/jikoku/ 、2024年9月1日改正・平土日祝共通。運行状況は『通常運行』と2026-10-06に読んだ。運行会社は九州産交バスと宮崎交通の2社）：熊本駅前[7番のりば]発 9:11（産交）・15:31（宮交）→ 高千穂バスセンター[着]12:19・18:39、どちらも188分（途中、高森駅交流施設で15分の休憩〈着11:00・発11:15〉を含む。乗り換えなし）。西日本鉄道『福岡・福岡空港〜延岡（ごかせ号）』時刻表PDF（2025年8月1日改正。https://www.nishitetsu.jp/userfiles/page_contents/082913893062e2d2f1422c8ff39f7416.pdf ）と宮崎交通の同路線ページの時刻表PDF（https://www.miyakoh.co.jp/express/mediafile/gokase_20240422.pdf 、2024年4月22日改正・座席指定制）：博多バスターミナル発 8:25・10:25・15:50・17:50 → 高千穂バスセンター着 11:41・13:41・19:06・21:06、4便とも196分（逆向きは高千穂バスセンター発 8:57 → 博多バスターミナル着 12:11 などで194分）。 (checked 2026-10-06). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 7 municipalities across 2 prefectures.

Territory of Takachiho Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

22.7km

Miyazaki Prefecture: 日之影町, 五ヶ瀬町, 諸塚村
Oita Prefecture: 豊後大野市, 竹田市
Kumamoto Prefecture: 高森町, 山都町

Takachiho Town isthis kind of town.

01Takachiho Bridge (高千穂橋梁) is a railway bridge over a deep gorge on the lower Iwato River. A six-span steel girder bridge, it is 353m long and 105m high, and was registered as a tangible cultural property on July 9, 2026.
02Tsuge no Taki Limestone Cave (柘の滝鍾乳洞) is a national natural monument where a gravel layer remains like a shelf. The Former Tabaru Village Office (旧田原村役場) is a registered property with temple-style brackets on a Western-style exterior, and the town holds iron komainu, one pair each at Takachiho Shrine and Mukoyama Shrine (向山神社).
03The town also has Takachiho Gorge, a national place of scenic beauty and natural monument, the Yokagura of Takachiho, a national important intangible folk cultural property, and the main hall of Takachiho Shrine, a national Important Cultural Property. It is also said to be a land of the descent of the heavenly grandson.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Takachiho Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗