Some stunning sites in Inaka, Japan's little-known rural area

Abroad, Japan is known for its vast cities connected by high-speed railways, but the country is much more than that.

A tour of some of the beautiful hidden treasures of Nagasaki, Japan
A route with breathtaking views of majestic Fuji, Japan's sacred mountain

Beyond those major cities, Japan is an overwhelmingly rural country. Seventy percent of its land area consists of undeveloped terrain, comprising both forests and mountains. This rural region—known locally as "Inaka" (田舎, meaning "countryside" in Japanese)—is home to only 8–10% of the Japanese population, yet it boasts some truly breathtaking locations.

Last Friday, the consistently fascinating Japanese YouTube channel Watatabi (わた旅)—which I highly recommend subscribing to if you want to get to know the country better—released a video touring the Inaka and showcasing some beautiful, off-the-beaten-path locations, including forests, rock formations, waterfalls, and caves (the video is in Japanese but features English subtitles, which you can enable in the player):

Here you can see some screenshots from this video. The image at the top of the article shows the Kamikawa Otaki Waterfall, which is 25 meters high and 30 meters wide. It is located in the southwest of Kyūshū Island. Below, we can see the limestone cave at Shirataki Park, also situated in southwestern Kyūshū. In this instance, the cave is shown with a high volume of water due to recent rainfall.

The beautiful forest trail to Kaname Falls, located in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Prefecture—also in southwestern Kyūshū.

The great Mea-Fudo rock is located in Yamaga, in the northern part of Kumamoto Prefecture. It stands 80 meters tall, with its summit reaching 389 meters above sea level. Behind it lie the Naka-Fudo and Ato-Fudo rocks.

Kyusendo Cave, the largest limestone cave in Kyūshū. It is located in the village of Kuma and is 5 kilometers long.