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We’re in Miyazaki, one of the least populated and most remote prefectures in Japan.
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Being mountainous, undeveloped, and out of the way,
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Miyazaki is hands down one of the best places to get lost in the beauty of Japan’s natural landscapes.
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Hey guys! Today thanks to Odigo we’re here at Takachiho Gorge in Miyazaki prefecture
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and unfortunately the water level’s a little too high so we can’t do the boat riding today,
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but we’re gonna explore this beautiful gorge. Let’s go.
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This gorge is famous for its beauty, but also its geology.
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The jointed column walls of this gorge were formed 90,000 years ago from the volcanic eruption of Mt. Aso,
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which actually also just erupted earlier this month,
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although there were no major geographic changes this time.
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They also have a bunch of pretty cool wildlife here.
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What the heck is this?! Jun, what is it?!?!
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Kamikiri-mushi (Longhorn beetle)
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WHAT IS IT?!
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Don't touch it.
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Does it bite?
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If you touch him, maybe.
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EUUGUHHH IT'S SO BIG
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He has a pretty damn strong jaw so you can bleed easily.
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OKOKOKOK LET'S GO
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Leaving now!
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He can... break the branch.
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WOAH
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These aren't koi. What are these?
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These are sturgeon, aka butterfly sharks in Japanese.
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These are the fish that produce caviar,
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and supposedly that’s what these are being grown for.
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Feeding fail
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YAHHHH
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Nope.
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I can't tell if they care or not.
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Dude, buddy.
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You're awesome.
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Bug catching is really popular in Japan,
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and apparently among dragonfly catchers here it’s common knowledge
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that you can hypnotize dragonflies by spinning your finger in a circular motion.
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Because their eyes see through thousands of overlapping facets,
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the motion of the finger supposedly confuses them
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and they’re unable to tell which direction the hand is coming from.
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There's a butterfly tornado here for some reason.
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What??
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What is this?
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I didn’t know it at the time, but these butterflies are doing something called “mud-puddling”.
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They’re sucking up the liquids in the mud in order to gain various nutrients, salts, and amino acids.
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While they look cute here, butterflies have also been known to puddle on
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rotten fruit,
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dung,
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carrion,
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human sweat,
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and rarely, even tears
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and blood.
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Aww so cute BLOOD SUCKING DEMON
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The Aya Teruha Suspension bridge is 142 meters high and 250 meters long,
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and connects a nature center with basically nothing,
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although there is a small shrine and pilgrimage trail on the other side,
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which is not worth climbing the mountain in summer to see, TRUST ME I DID IT.
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REALLY?!
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[heavy breathing]
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THIS IS ALL THERE IS?!
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[more heavy breathing]
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IT'S FRICKING SMALL
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This area is meant to help people feel closer to nature,
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and they encourage you to study the wildlife,
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which includes weird goats-
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huehue I wanna find a weird goat.
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-and blood-sucking worms.
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Oh hey.
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Yeah?
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They have hiru--
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--the worm that sucks your blood.
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NOOO NOHOHOHOOO
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Oh, they force you to step on the grating at some point.
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Okay. Okay.
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If you insist.
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You can see a massive shadow from the bridge down there.
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Chris is not okay with heights.
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The bridge is swaying.
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YES
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Udo Jingu is a shrine built into a cliffside cave.
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The long path to the shrine was supposedly built by travelers
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who individually brought stones from the port over the course of several hundred years.
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You can see how the center stones are worn down
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from so many people walking on them.
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It's too hot to resist.
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Jun's getting me strawberry shaved ice.
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I need the ice inside my body.
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Thank you!
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The legend of the shrine says a man married Toyotama-hime,
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the daughter of the Dragon King of the Ocean.
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When she was in the cave giving birth he entered and saw her true form,
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which was some sort of water monster.
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And because she was revealed she had to go back to the ocean,
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but she... umm...
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she left behind her breast to feed her son
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which is now a rock in the cave
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from which water drips
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and if you drink the cave boob water, it’s supposed to help you with childbirth.
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Jun, it looks like we can throw more stones into the rock.
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You need to make it stay in the circle. Are you up for it?
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The men are supposed to use their left hand and the women are supposed to use their right hand.
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Good for you Jun, you're left-handed!
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But when I do sports I use my right hand.
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Oh, really?
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To throw. Left hand to hit.
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I think that would be too easy for you anyway so you need the handicap.
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What?
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It's just right there.
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Oh, look! There's so many stones.
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Okay, we gotta do it.
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All right!
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Let's go see if we'll get some luck!
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Go Jun, you can do it!
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You are our best hope.
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Close!
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It just breaks apart.
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All of yours hit inside. They just didn't stay.
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I'm done. Sorry.
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Good luck, Rachel!
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Okay!
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Oh, you got it in! OH YAY!
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Yay!
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AHH I got two!
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Yaaay!
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You got two in, so one for me. Thank you.
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Sorry, that one was really far off.
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It's okay! I got enough for both of us!
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YAY HIGH FIVE
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YEAH
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If you want to visit the places we went today,
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or find other spots in Japan to visit,
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Check out Odigo Travel.
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It's a free website that helps you plan your trip to Japan.
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Check the description box for links!