Japan's Sunshine Coast — surf breaks, Japanese mythology, and mango everything
Miyazaki is a subtropical coastal city on Kyushu's southeast coast — Japan's sunniest prefecture and one of its warmest year-round. Phoenix palm trees line the boulevard from the station to the beach, surfers ride consistent point breaks along the coast, and local restaurants serve tuna sashimi, chicken nanban, and cold Hyuganatsu citrus drinks. The city is also the heartland of Japanese creation mythology — the nearby Takachiho Gorge and Kirishima mountains are where Ninigi-no-Mikoto, ancestor of the imperial family, is said to have descended from heaven.
Miyazaki prefecture was known as Hyūga Province in antiquity and is central to the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki mythologies — the oldest written accounts of Japanese history. The first Emperor Jimmu is said to have set out from this region to establish the Yamato dynasty. The city grew as an agricultural and fishing centre through the Edo period, and its subtropical climate drew Japan's first honeymoon tourists after WWII — the 'Honeymoon Highway' along the coast became famous when Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko honeymooned here in 1959.