After visiting Takachiho Gorge we drove a little north to Iwato city. This place is famous for its Shinto god origins.  There is a cave called Ama-no-Iwato (天岩戸) which means “The cave of the sun god” or “heavenly rock cave.”  This is where Amaterasu, one of the children of Izanagi (the head god of Shintoism) was hiding from the other gods.  She, being the goddess of the sun, caused darkness to cover the world until she was tricked to come out of the cave. Worshipers built a shrine into it and now visit it to worship.

Southern Kyushu is important to not only Shintoism but also the myths regarding the beginning of the Japanese Emperor line.