Takachiho Gorge and Aoshima Island - Mar 14

Today we once again had breakfast in our hotel, but managed to avoid fish and rice because it was a buffet and had some more or less Western foods.
It was raining this morning, so the first part of our walk through Takachiho Gorge took place in the rain. The Takachiho Gorge is narrow and cut through the rock by the river below. There is a waterfall, we saw people out rowing to the waterfall in small rental rowboats (in one boat they were holding up umbrellas as they rowed along). We walked along the edge of the gorge for about 1 kilometer - it was quite beautiful.

We next went to see the Amano Iwato shrine for the sun goddess who hid in a cave. Because she is the ancestor (mythologically) of the Emperor, the tori gate differs from the usual in that the second cross-bar doesn't extend beyond the support posts. We had a nice young Shinto priest show us around, including the private locked back portion where you can see the cave she hid in (no photography allowed here). Then while the rest of the group walked down to the cave where the rest of the gods gathered to lure her out by dancing, Dave and I sat in a tiny spot and sampled the Shitaki mushroom broth sold by a little old Japanese lady. The rain had totally ceased while we were there, so she was busy taking in the umbrellas she had cannily been selling before while it was raining.
Then after more driving, and a stop at a roadside rest stop for lunch (Dave found a machine that dispensed french fries, I had rice balls stuffed with chicken), we ended up at Aoshima Island. It is surrounded by a unique rock formation known as the Devil's Washboard, and is covered with palm trees. It also, of course, has a Shinto Shrine (with the usual tori gate). I thought the place was one of the most interesting, geologically speaking, I had ever seen.