Before visiting Kyushu you should decide what your interests are and what kind o travel adapts to your own personality. Kyushu has so many things to offer! Astounding landcapes, vibrating cities, delicious cooking, arts and crafts, festivals and traditions... and a kind people that will receive you with open arms.

But let me tell you my own story. I travelled to Kyushu last summer. It is very easy to get to the southernmost big island of Japan. You can get there by plane, ferry or by using the shinkansen, the punctual and rapid japanese high speed trains. And it was a sunny day of August that I got to Fukuoka by train.

It is a modern city that has preserved its traditions and culture and looks forward to the future. It got into my heart immediately. You can visit its old temples, have a shopping afternoon in Tenjin, get the ferry to the islands on the bay, have dinner in the open-air street stalls called yatai, or jogging at Ohori Park.

And from Fukuoka to Beppu, in Oita Prefecture!

Give yourself the pleasure of relax. I had a lovely day in Beppu, walking by the beach, visiting the Jigoku (steamy ponds of boiling water) and enjoying the spring water baths.
And after taking care of your health and soul you can do as I did: discovering Kumamoto.

The much famous bear Kumamon will wellcome you as you arrive to Kumamoto.
By using the cute shiromegurin tourist bus I visited the famous castle and Suizenji Park, an inspiring garden.

And as transport is so easy in all of Kyushu's prefectures, one day you can be in Kumamoto, and some hours later you can visit the impressing Nagasaki.
I will never forget the view from Mount Inasa observation point. The city spreading across the hills and by the sea, the port, the old temples, and a peace of history that you can discover visiting Nagasaki Peace Park, Chinatown and the former district reserved for Dutch traders called Dejima.

But there are still many more things to do and see. I spent a couple of days in Kagoshima, where I could visit the awesome active volcano Sakurajima and the Sengaku-en famous garden, before taking the ferry to the island called Yakushima.

Yakushima! Covered by ancient misty forests, surrounded by outstanding beaches, full of nature and beauty. Trecking by the enormous cedar forests was the end to my trip to Kuyshu.
A part of my heart still lives there, and I long to return. There is so much to see in Kyushu! And I do still have to discover the Prefectures os Saga and Miyazaki.

This travel changed my life. It will change yours… Visit Kyushu!!