Kyushu Travel Guide
The southernmost of Japan's four main islands, Kyushu offers a mild climate, famous hot-spring spas, beautiful countryside, national parks, and warm, friendly people. It also boasts a couple of high-tech theme parks that make it Japan's number one destination for visitors from Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other Asian cities.
Historians believe that Japan's earliest inhabitants lived on Kyushu before gradually pushing northward. According to Japanese legend, it was from Kyushu that the first emperor, Jimmu, began his campaign to unify Japan. Kyushu is therefore considered to be the cradle of Japanese civilization. And because Kyushu is the island closest to Korea and China, it has served through the centuries as a point of influx for both people and ideas from abroad, including those from the West.
The Circle Island Tour: A Suggested Itinierary For Seeing Kyushu -- Most of Kyushu's towns are along the coast, which means you can visit most of the island's cities and attractions by circling the island by train. You might, for example, wish to start out in Fukuoka, where Hakata Station is the terminus for Shinkansen bullet trains from Tokyo. From there you can head south to Kagoshima, stopping along the east coast of the island at Beppu and Miyazaki along the way. From Kagoshima, consider taking the bus to Chiran to visit its famous samurai gardens and continuing onward to the hot-springs area of Ibusuki, near Kyushu's southernmost tip. Traveling northward from Kagoshima along Kyushu's western coast brings you to Kumamoto and the exciting city of Nagasaki, where you can finish your tour of Kyushu by taking a bus to the mountain resort spa of Unzen. Complete your circuit of the island by returning to Fukuoka and boarding a Shinkansen bullet train bound for Honshu.
