Day 65 - A Coastal Walk Along The Pine Forest In Miyazaki, The Kyushu 108 Temple Pilgrimage, Japan

 

Day 65 - A Coastal Walk Along The Pine Forest In Miyazaki, The Kyushu 108 Temple Pilgrimage, Japan

Breakfast at our hotel in Miyazaki City was a sweet reminder of the comforts of home.

There were both green and carrot juices, nuts and dried fruit and a selection of healthy and tasty foods like wild forest mushrooms and sweet potato rice.

There are a few roads that will take you north from Miyazaki city.

I chose the coastal road that is for pedestrians and cyclists only.  It goes through a pine forest, planted hundreds of years ago to protect the city from storms and sea spray.

It has the long name of Kenritsuawakigahara Forest Park, and it stretches about 10 km from the beginning to the top, where if you are continuing north, you must join the main road.

There are two golf resorts located in the forest, the Sheraton and the Phoenix Seagaia Resort. 

Otherwise, the forest and the coast are pretty isolated with not many restaurants nor even people.

The area includes the Miyazaki botanical gardens, called the Florante Miyazaki gardens, a vast tennis club, and also another garden, called Komorebi no Gadoden.

It is a garden planted by a community of volunteers, that combines the majestic existing pine forest with seasonal bulbs and perennials.

There is a wooden boardwalk and decks and a lovely English garden with a small cottage.

All the plants and flowers that are planted here are being cared for and looked after by the volunteers.

These inner city gardens are said to help the residents bring out the essence and purpose of gardening.

The locals call it “The garden of  sunlight through the trees”, and declare that they are creating a garden together for everyone.

They want to promote coexistence with nature, creating a cozy landscape where visitors can enjoy the changing of the seasons by being surrounded by the magnificent pine forest.

As soon as we stepped into the pine forest, the city disappeared from view.

As we walked north in the calm environment, we realized that beyond blocking the sound of the cars, the forest provides great wind protection.

It was a very windy day, and we had to hold on to our hats, but inside the forest, it was calm and beautiful.

Pine trees release a substance called Phytoncide.

Phytoncides are antimicrobial organic compounds derived from plants. 

Pines give off these very active substances that help to prevent them from rotting or from being eaten by some insects and animals. 

It is also believed to to have healing effects for humans who spend time in the forest. 

The forest path was easy to walk on, and very enjoyable.

There was also a path that led to the sea, but we didn’t take it because of the very strong winds.

At lunchtime, we finished the Pine forest walk and went to have lunch at the nicely designed Sheraton hotel.

Normally, we would not have chosen a hotel for lunch, but we did not want to leave the area and the hotel had a bakery and a bookstore cafe, where we could sit on comfortable sofas and eat a simple meal.

We really enjoyed our lunch and sitting at the beautiful cafe.

The walk today felt easy, maybe because it wasn’t too hot, and not too noisy from cars passing us by.

Some people do not believe in taking “Forest Baths” but the concept is catching on like wildfire in Japan.

I can attest to the fact that after walking for most of the day through the woods and the gardens, I felt much more refreshed than walking the same distance on busy roads.

To return to central Miyazaki where our hotel was located, we had to walk away from the sea towards the nearest mall, where we got a bus back to the city.

Our hotel in Miyazaki doesn’t have a hot springs, but we got a fantastic deal by booking it months ago.

Our deal for three nights that included their fabulous breakfast, came at a total price that the hotel offers now for one night.

The hotel does have Netflix, and it felt like a rare treat to login and watch TV.

We have not watched TV for so long…

With love and kindness,

Tali

Stats: 30,089 steps 

Today’s walk: 21 km 

Kilometers walked to date: 1118 km

Temples visited: none