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Map of Kyushu

Kyūshū (九州) is the southernmost of the four main islands of Japan. The climate is slightly warmer and more tropical than Honshu, and the southern and eastern coasts are regularly battered by typhoons each year. The terrain is generally mountainous with very fertile valleys much like the rest of Japan, except for the wide plain area at the top of the island - the location of the largest cities of Fukuoka and Kitakyushu.

[edit] Prefectures

There are seven prefectures in Kyushu:

• Fukuoka - home of the cities of Fukuoka and Kitakyushu
• Saga - small and rustic, famous for pottery and pre-historic village ruins
• Nagasaki - best known for the eponymous city of Nagasaki, a hilly city with more than its fair share of history - major "foreigners port" during the closed-Japan period, and target of the 2nd US atomic weapon attack during World War II
• Oita - rural area well known for abundant onsen hot springs, especially Beppu, the Las Vegas of Japan
• Kumamoto - center of the isle of Kyushu, location of the Aso caldera, largest in the world, and the beautiful Amakusa chain of islands
• Miyazaki - the surfers' destination of Japan with big beaches and big waves, plus the stunning Takachiho Gorge with its Shinto shrines
• Kagoshima - dominated by the Sakurajima volcano, hot enough to grow sugarcane - get buried on hot-sand beaches, or visit the two famous islands of Yakushima and Tanegashima

The islands of Okinawa, leading southwest of Japan to Taiwan, are sometimes considered a part of Kyushu, and in fact the northernmost islands in the chain are administered by Kagoshima prefecture.

[edit] Cities

• Fukuoka - the gateway to Kyushu
• Kitakyushu - not just an industrial city
• Nagasaki - of the A-bomb tragedy
• Sasebo - U.S. Navy base is here
• Miyazaki - tourism and resort area in southern Kyushu
• Kumamoto - featuring one of the best Japanese castles, the Kumamoto castle
• Kagoshima - southern city in the shadow of the Sakurajima volcano
• Beppu - hot springs are more abundant here than anywhere else

[edit] Other destinations

• Amami Islands - subtropical archipelago halfway to Okinawa
• Mount Aso - an active volcano
• Kirishima - a mountainous national park chock full of volcanic craters and hot springs
• Tanegashima - island home of Japan's space program
• Yakushima - subtropical island famous for its giant cedars
• Usuki - home to some of Japan's best ancient stone Buddha statues

[edit] Talk

Kyushu is home to dialects of Japanese that are almost incomprehensible to speakers of standard Japanese -so much so that it was utilised during World War 2 for preventing interception by the Allies of Japanese communications. Even native speakers of Japanese from Honshu often have problems understanding the conversations of locals. However, most younger people would be able to speak standard Japanese so it should not pose much of a problem.

[edit] Get in

[edit] By plane

Fukuoka is Japan's busiest international hub after the trio of Tokyo, Chubu and Kansai and has excellent connections throughout Asia and Japan. All the other prefectural capitals also offer limited service within Japan and to a few major Asian cities (typically Seoul and Shanghai).

[edit] By train

The Sanyo Shinkansen line from Hiroshima, Osaka and beyond serves Kokura Station in Kitakyushu and terminates at Hakata Station in Fukuoka. A trip by train all the way from Tokyo takes 5:40 and costs ¥22000.

The Kyushu Shinkansen from Hakata to Kagoshima is half-open, but there's still a stretch missing between Hakata and Yatsushiro that has to be covered by ordinary train. The entire line is scheduled to open in spring 2011.

[edit] By bus

123bus [1] is a company which provides daily night time bus services between Tokyo and Kyushu, Osaka and Kyushu. With an online booking service in English.

[edit] Get around

[edit] By train

Steam locomotive Hitoyoshi

Inside the Isaburō/Shinpei sightseeing car

The train is the transport mode of choice on Kyushu, and will be even more so once the remaining bit of the Kyushu Shinkansen line is completed in 2011, allowing through service from Fukuoka to Kagoshima. And it's more than just practical: the JR Hisatsu Line (肥薩線) from Kumamoto via Yatsushiro to Hayato (near Kagoshima) is considered one of the most scenic in Japan, with sightseeing trains and, on Fridays, weekends and holidays, even a steam locomotive running part of the way.

The Kyushu Rail Pass [2], available only to visitors on tourist visas, offers unlimited travel on JR Kyushu's lines, including the Kyushu Shinkansen but not the San'yo Shinkansen to Hakata. As of 2009, the pass costs ¥16,000 for five days, or ¥7,000 for 3-day version limited to northern Kyushu only. you'll have to travel quite a lot to make this pay off and most visitors, especially those not flying in directly to Kyushu, will find the ordinary Japan Rail Pass a better deal.

[edit] By bus

Buses serve those parts of Kyushu outside the railway network, but schedules tend to be very limited. There is also a highway bus system paralleling the train network, which you can use through the Raku Bus [3] website. They also offer SUNQ 3-4 day unlimited travel passes: 4-day All Kyushu Pass ¥14,000; 3-day All Kyushu Pass ¥10,000; 3-day Northern Kyushu Pass ¥8,000.

[edit][add listing] Eat

[edit][add listing] Drink

Kyushu is the home of shōchū (焼酎), the fiery Japanese distilled liquor. It's typically around 25%, but some varieties can be much stronger. It can be distilled from nearly anything including rice, barley, brown sugar and buckwheat, but Kyushu is best known for potato shōchū (芋焼酎 imojōchū), particularly that from the ancient province of Satsuma (modern-day Kagoshima).

[edit] Stay safe

[edit] Get out

Chugoku - The Chugoku region offers many great experiences for travellers, such as Hiroshima, the first city to experience an atomic bombing, Okayama, home to one of Japan's Three Famous Gardens, Izumo, with the second holiest Shinto Shrine in Japan, and Tottori, with Japan's only sand dunes.