These days, Kyushu isn't really on the foreign tourist trail in Japan. As people fly into
Tokyo, Shinkansen to Kyoto, day-trip to Hiroshima, and fly out of Osaka, Kyushu is just
that little bit too far down the line to warrant a visit. If only they knew what they were
missing.
It hasn't
always been this way, though. In fact, as archaeological digs all over the island are
forever proving, Kyushu was for centuries the major gateway between the reclusive Japanese
archipelago and Asia and the rest of the world beyond. An unearthed Chinese high official
gold seal, dated AD 57, suggests that Kyushu hosted very early Chinese interests. After
the Japanese import of Chinese rice cultivation, Buddhism, writing techniques, noodles,
tea and bureaucracy, came the Portuguese when an off-course ship arrived at Nagasaki in
1542. On their expulsion a century later, the tiny Dutch enclave on Dejima Island became
the only point of contact between Japan and the outside world until 1859 when foreigners
were once again allowed into Nagasaki, reigniting the cultural melting pot. Kyushu
citizens embraced internationalism then as much as they do now. With Korea and China so
close (at 40 minutes by plane, Pusan is less than half the distance of Tokyo), Kyushu
remains a cosmopolitan place and signs are frequently written in Japanese, English,
Chinese and Korean. Many visiting foreigners rejoice in the friendliness of the locals in
comparison to the stigma often felt by gaijin in the large cities of Honshu.
The gateway to the peaceful beauty and richness of the region is the sprawling conurbation
of Fukuoka. The warm winds and currents that once brought in the trading
junks and menacing galleons, today bring in visitors to Fukuoka Airport through a new
international terminal aiming to encourage an estimated 400,000 overseas visitors per
year. As for domestic tourists, Japan flocks to its southern leisureland in droves.
(Tokyo/Fukuoka is the world's third busiest intercity route and Japan's second largest.)
Can 16 million tourists a year be wrong?
The city is divided in two by a river. On one side was
situated the castle - in ruins now, guarding a very modern city, and on the other bank the
merchant area of Hakata, where the Shinkansen terminus is now located. The major tourist
attractions for domestic visitors to Fukuoka are shopping and amusement centers like Canal
City Hakata or the Fukuoka Dome, although there is a selection
of interesting museums, temples and historical sites as well.
Kyushu has its fair share of Japanese urban sprawl, but many of its cities retain a
relaxed, balmy atmosphere. Kagoshima for instance - a city of half a
million - is noted for its gardens and the beauty of its surrounding scenery, which
invades city life in the overshadowing form of the smoldering Mount Sakurajima,
more than any urban delights it may hide.
Nature is, as usual, the best reason to visit Kyushu. This island is still visibly
mid-evolution. Mount Unzen, on the Shimabara Peninsula in Nagasaki-ken,
erupted violently as latel as 1991, killing forty people. Sakurajima-san has been spewing
ash for over half a century and in its 1914 eruption (the first of five this century)
converted itself from an island to a peninsula. Kyushu's seismic underworld feeds arguably
the best hot spring resorts in Japan, ranging from the popular hype of Beppu to the jungle
baths of Kagoshima and the "miraculous" healing springs of Tsutate.
Many of the resorts are well-trodden tourist traps, but look just a little further and the
onsen attractions are far more peaceful. Pass through Beppu and get your hot spring hit in
Yufuin, just one hour inland, and your hot sand bath near the very
southern tip of Kyushu at Ibuzuki on the dramatic Satsuma-hanto
peninsular.
The tectonic
struggles have formed some exceptionally breathtaking scenery amongst Kyushu's 13 national
parks: the crater of Mount Aso, the largest in the world at sixteen
kilometers by twenty-four; the gorges at Takachiho; the mountain walks of
the Kirishima range. These are complemented by rugged coasts, cryptic
rock formations, emerald seascapes and tidal planes.
If you are coming from elsewhere in Japan, and it all seems a little too close to home,
there is always Huis Ten Bosch ("little Holland") near
Nagasaki, complete with fake church spires, cheese markets, windmills and replica museums
- of the more conservative kinds. (Day tickets from JY3900 or JY3200 for children.) Or if
Kyushu's nature is just too real, try Seagaia (JY4200 day entry) in
Miyazaki, a stone's throw from the Pacific coast, the world's largest indoor water park,
including a 140 meter fake white sand beach under a 300 meter retractable roof.
The food should disappoint no one. Take advantage of the
better climate, the better sake and the better hospitality and round off your days in a
suitably Mediterranean fashion with an al fresco extravaganza of Kyushu cuisine.
Hakata pork-based ramen is one of the three most famous in Japan, alongside the Tokyo and
Sapporo varieties. In Nagasaki, try the shippoku hyori blend of Portuguese,
Chinese, Dutch and Japanese cuisine for a truly eclectic meal. Local seafood is highly
renowned, such as the delicate fugu (blowfish), spicy cod roe, motsu nabe
(a dish of tripe and vegetables), mizutaki (a soup made from chunks of chicken, fresh
vegetables, soy sauce and bitter orange), or Kagoshima tonkatsu.
Accommodation around Kyushu can be relatively pricy due to its popularity with domestic
tourists. Excluding hostels, budget options are few and far between and visitors to
Fukuoka often end up staying at the youth hostel in the nearby suburb/ village of Dazaifu
(092-922-8740), notable for its fine temples, so killing two birds with one stone.
Elsewhere, the youth hostel market seems to be relatively well catered for with per night
prices from between JY2000 and JY3000. Travel is also expensive to those lacking those
golden JR Passes. The cheapest train fair from Fukuoka to Kagoshima is over JY5000; buses
are no cheaper. This could be a place to exercise your hitching thumb.
Over the coming year TCwill publish in-depth travel features on the special
attractions of Kyushu's different regions.
It hasn't
always been this way, though. In fact, as archaeological digs all over the island are
forever proving, Kyushu was for centuries the major gateway between the reclusive Japanese
archipelago and Asia and the rest of the world beyond. An unearthed Chinese high official
gold seal, dated AD 57, suggests that Kyushu hosted very early Chinese interests. After
the Japanese import of Chinese rice cultivation, Buddhism, writing techniques, noodles,
tea and bureaucracy, came the Portuguese when an off-course ship arrived at Nagasaki in
1542. On their expulsion a century later, the tiny Dutch enclave on Dejima Island became
the only point of contact between Japan and the outside world until 1859 when foreigners
were once again allowed into Nagasaki, reigniting the cultural melting pot. Kyushu
citizens embraced internationalism then as much as they do now. With Korea and China so
close (at 40 minutes by plane, Pusan is less than half the distance of Tokyo), Kyushu
remains a cosmopolitan place and signs are frequently written in Japanese, English,
Chinese and Korean. Many visiting foreigners rejoice in the friendliness of the locals in
comparison to the stigma often felt by gaijin in the large cities of Honshu. 
The city is divided in two by a river. On one side was
situated the castle - in ruins now, guarding a very modern city, and on the other bank the
merchant area of Hakata, where the Shinkansen terminus is now located. The major tourist
attractions for domestic visitors to Fukuoka are shopping and amusement centers like Canal
City Hakata or the Fukuoka Dome, although there is a selection
of interesting museums, temples and historical sites as well. 
The tectonic
struggles have formed some exceptionally breathtaking scenery amongst Kyushu's 13 national
parks: the crater of Mount Aso, the largest in the world at sixteen
kilometers by twenty-four; the gorges at Takachiho; the mountain walks of
the Kirishima range. These are complemented by rugged coasts, cryptic
rock formations, emerald seascapes and tidal planes. 
The food should disappoint no one. Take advantage of the
better climate, the better sake and the better hospitality and round off your days in a
suitably Mediterranean fashion with an al fresco extravaganza of Kyushu cuisine.
Hakata pork-based ramen is one of the three most famous in Japan, alongside the Tokyo and
Sapporo varieties. In Nagasaki, try the shippoku hyori blend of Portuguese,
Chinese, Dutch and Japanese cuisine for a truly eclectic meal. Local seafood is highly
renowned, such as the delicate fugu (blowfish), spicy cod roe, motsu nabe
(a dish of tripe and vegetables), mizutaki (a soup made from chunks of chicken, fresh
vegetables, soy sauce and bitter orange), or Kagoshima tonkatsu. 