Takachiho by public transportation

Hey,

what is my best option to get to Takachiho (from anywhere on Kyushu) for a day trip (arrive in the morning, leave at the evening) by public transport?
I tried to find information but the only thing I could find is that buses are not so regularly anymore as people tend to take the car.
Is that correct?
If any, what is my best option to get there (and back)?

Thanks!

what is my best option to get to Takachiho (from anywhere on Kyushu) for a day trip (arrive in the morning, leave at the evening) by public transport?

What do you mean "from anywhere"?

The easiest base for a side trip to Takachiho is Nobeoka in Miyazaki Prefecture (about one hour by hourly buses). But getting to Nobeoka is equally time-consuming as getting to Takachiho.

Alternatively, it is relatively easily reached from Kumamoto by direct bus, but you will spend 6 hours on the bus and only 4 hours in Takachiho:
http://www.kyusanko.co.jp/sankobus/toshikan/takachiho/

You can find all the information about how to get from and to Takachiho by public transportation here:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e8051.html

Are you sure you only want to stay one day?
You're going to miss one of the best parts of Takachiho that way, the evening dance performance!

Ah thank you so much.
So if I get this information right then there are two buses from Nobeoka daily in each direction.
The first bus leaves 7:30 and takes 1 hour to Takachiho bus center and the last train leaves Takachiho at 18:30?
But that applies only to weekends.
There seems to be no bus on weekdays, am I right?

This is what I could figure with my very limited japanese knowledge '-.-

@zj
Oh please don't tease me...and there is even an airbnb available at the time of my stay. Now I'm in two minds about it.
But thanks for all the info on the page.
How long did you rent the boat?

As a side question: we will be visiting takachiho from Nobeoka. We also plan to visit Kurokawa onsen and beppu.

Would you advice to travel back to nobeoka from takachiho , on to beppu and then visit kurokawa onsen as a side trip from beppu, or is it possible to easily reach kurokawa from takachiho? I can only find some japanese websites about this but unfortunatly i do not understand these.

When I went to Takachiho, I started that morning in Miyazaki, and took the limited express to Nobeoka.

There I purchased a round trip ticket, and took the bus to Takachiho. I spent the night in Takachiho, and the Ryoken provided a bus complimentary evening bus to the shrine for the one hour Kagura Dancing. If I had known about their shuttle bus, I probably would not have take the regular bus up to the cave shrine, and walked to the Ryoken. I stayed at the Ryoken that is near the cave shrine, and they had wonderful meals.

The following day, The Ryoken provided their shuttle bus to get me back to the town center to catch my bus back to Nobeoka. From there I went to Beppu, which you mentioned you also wanted to go. If you can get to Nobeoka before 6:40 PM and 7:46 PM, there are limited express trains that will get you to Beppu in two to two and a half hours. This is getting in pretty late.

I took the morning bus and train, took my luggage to my hotel, and returned to Beppu station for the afternoon "Hells of Beppu" bus tour.

I didn't rent a boat in the Gorge, so I don't have any idea how much it costs. I went at the beginning of Golden week, and the gorge area was very festive. There were streaming noodle stands, and a stocked fishing pond. There was also a craft center across the street from the main bus stop that was having a Make-it take-it project of carving a Magatama bead to put on a leather cord to make a necklace.

as for transportation, I walked down to the main shrine, there was a shuttle bus from the shrine to the Gorge and back, I walked back to the town center, and there was a bus that took you to the cave shrine. I believe that the bus stop at the town center did have lockers to put your luggage in.

I t6hink you can hit the main shrine, the gorge, and the cave shrine on a day trip, but you will need to watch your time very carefully.

I hope this helps.

I think I rented it for about 30 minutes. That was more than enough time. ^__^

Thanks for all your information so far.
I'm actually quite the same page Tom is on.
I'd like to visit Takachiho, Beppu and Kurokawa (Onsen).
I thought the best route would be from Chugoku to Beppu, Beppu to Takachiho or Kurokawa (via Nobeoka or Aso), Takachiho or Kurokawa to Kumamoto or Fukuoka.
But it seems due to infrequent buses that won't be possible for me.