Hitome Hakkei — the eight views of Yabakei

photo by PekePON · CC BY-SA 4.0

photo by そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0

From a single spot you can see eight rock pinnacles, hence the name ‘eight views in one glance’.

In the heart of Yabakei, eight distinct rock formations (among them the ‘View of the Sea’, the ‘Hermit's Rock’ and the ‘Married Couple Rocks’) can be seen from a single viewpoint, hence the name. The poet Rai San'yō visited the area in 1818 and coined the Chinese name from which ‘Yabakei’ derives. The area was chosen in 1916 as one of the New Three Great Views of Japan and recognised as Japan Heritage in 2017.

Yabakei is a gorge carved by erosion into a Quaternary volcanic plateau, straddling the municipalities of Nakatsu, Hita, Usa, Kusu and Kokonoe. The name was coined by the poet Rai San'yō, who visited the area in 1818 and in a Chinese poem called it ‘without equal under heaven’, applying Chinese characters to the local name ‘valley of the Yamakuni-gawa’. In 1916 it was chosen as one of the New Three Great Views of Japan, in 1923 it was designated a meishō (place of celebrated beauty), and since 1950 it has been part of Yaba-Hita-Hikosan National Park; in 2017 it received Japan Heritage recognition (Nihon Ishin). Hitome Hakkei, in the deep-gorge section, is the most famous viewpoint; from here you can see eight rock formations at the same time: Kaibōrei, Sennin-ga-iwa, Sarunaki-yama, Meoto-iwa, Gunen-yama, Eboshi-iwa, Yuka-chōrei and Washi-no-su-yama.

ℹ️ Freely accessible viewpoint, with a car park (including disabled parking), multi-purpose toilets and a nursing area. Access: about 15 minutes by car from the Kusu interchange.

🚉 深耶馬渓温泉 (Shin-Yabakei Onsen) · 60 min walk

Sources: ja.wikipedia.org · visit-oita.jp · nakatsuyaba.com

All series · Open the map