South Miyazaki · KushimaNo.533★★★Open in map →
Cape Toi
— Miyazaki's southern cape and its wild native horses
A grass headland at the southern tip of Miyazaki where a herd of native Misaki horses lives outdoors all year, with no stables and no handlers. A white lighthouse stands at the point, and one toll gate controls the only road in.
- FromMiyazaki Station
- Half a dayJR Nichinan Line + community bus
- Get off atKushima Station (JR Nichinan Line)
- From there
- Cape Toi
Where it is
18 more notes in Miyazaki · open the map →What to look for — in walking order
- Komadome-no-mon gatethe single entrance to the pasture, where a conservation fee is collected per vehicle
- Komatsugaoka grasslandopen pasture just inside the gate where much of the herd grazes
- Pakalapaka visitor centrerest house with a short film on the horses, a restaurant and a shop
- Toi Misaki Lighthousethe only lighthouse in Kyushu open for visitors to climb, white above the cliffs
- Misaki Shrinean old shrine set into the cliff below the point, facing the open sea
How to actually get there
- Miyazaki Station → Kushima Station (JR Nichinan Line; some services change at Minami-Miyazaki).
- Kushima Station → Cape Toi (Kushima yoka Bus, Toi-misaki line).
- Through Komadome-no-mon gate → Komatsugaoka grassland → Pakalapaka visitor centre.
- Pakalapaka → Toi Misaki Lighthouse → Misaki Shrine at the point.
- JR Nichinan Line to Kushima, then the community bus
- From Miyazaki Station take the JR Nichinan Line south to Kushima Station; some services require a change at Minami-Miyazaki. From the station, Kushima's yoka Bus runs the Toi-misaki line out to the cape. Both legs are limited rural services, so settle the day's departures before you set out rather than after you arrive.
- Fix the return before you go in
- The yoka Bus Toi-misaki line is the only public way off the cape, and departures thin out later in the day, so note the return time when you arrive. Trains north from Kushima Station are spaced out too. If you are driving, leave through Komadome-no-mon before it shuts for the evening; the closing time moves earlier from October through March.
About the place
Cape Toi closes off the southern tip of Miyazaki Prefecture, a grass headland dropping to cliffs above the Pacific. The whole cape is fenced pasture, and the Misaki horses inside it have no stables and no handlers. They graze the slopes, foal there and pick their own shelter from the wind. There is one road in: the Toi-misaki prefectural road, which enters through a gate called Komadome-no-mon and climbs to the point. Horses stand on the verge and step onto the tarmac, so traffic moves at a crawl. Miyazaki's official guide asks visitors to keep their distance and never to feed or touch a horse.
How to enjoy it
Come on a weekday and leave a couple of unhurried hours for the cape. The distance from the gate to the point is short, but the horses set the pace and you will stop for them. Pakalapaka, the visitor centre along the way, is open 9:00 to 17:00 and closed on Tuesdays, so a Tuesday visit needs its own food plan.
Background & history
Horses have grazed this cape since the Edo period, when the Takanabe domain raised military mounts on it. They were left to breed in the open rather than stabled, and their descendants survive as one of Japan's native horse breeds. In 1953 the Misaki horses and their breeding ground were designated together as a National Natural Monument, so the protection covers the grassland as much as the animals. The lighthouse at the point was first lit in 1929.
Before you go
- Cash
- The wild-horse conservation fee at Komadome-no-mon is 500 yen for a car and 200 yen for a motorcycle, paid at the gate. Going up the lighthouse costs 300 yen for junior high age and above. On the yoka Bus, village routes are 200 yen a ride and an all-day pass is 400 yen. Carry cash for the gate and the lighthouse.
- Before you go
- Komadome-no-mon opens in the morning and shuts in the evening, earlier from October through March. The prefectural and city listings disagree on the exact times, so confirm on the day. The lighthouse admits visitors in the morning and again after a midday break, and its afternoon hours vary by season and by day of the week. Road closures for events such as cycling races are posted in advance.
- Another way
- By car, Kushima is reached either from Miyazaki Airport down the Nichinan coast or from Kagoshima Airport across the peninsula; the city lists both as standard approaches. From Kushima, the Toi-misaki prefectural road is the only route onto the cape and Komadome-no-mon is the only way in.
- After you get off
- Kushima Station is where the railway ends for this trip, and the cape is far beyond walking distance. From the station the yoka Bus Toi-misaki line runs out to the headland. Once you are through the gate, the visitor centre and the lighthouse are close enough to cover on foot if you park at Pakalapaka.