Page 19 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide: Japan

DISC OVERING JAP AN  17

A Tour of Kyushu

• Airports Arrive at Fukuoka
Airport and depart from
Kagoshima Airport.
• Transport It’s about 2 hours
by train from Fukuoka to
Nagasaki. Traveling from
Nagasaki to Kumamoto
takes 2 hours and 40
minutes, and it’s 2 hours
and 20 minutes from there
to Aso. Beppu is 2.5 hours
from Aso. The best way of
visiting Takachiho is to hire
a car in either Kumamoto or
Aso. Going from Kumamoto
to Kagoshima by Shinkansen Fountains and palm trees at Nagasaki Peace Park
takes 1 hour and 40 minutes.
If you are not flying out of Day 2 bubbling pools of mud and
Kagoshima, the return trip Picturesque Nagasaki (pp244–7) mineral-colored waters. On the
to Fukuoka by Shinkansen has a cosmopolitan vibe thanks beach, experience being buried
takes around 2 hours and to centuries of international up to your neck in hot sand. Then
15 minutes. trade. There’s plenty to see here, head 25 km (16 miles) inland to
including Chinese temples and stay at the smaller, more refined
Catholic churches; a mansion that onsen town of Yufuin (p239), set
Day 1 served as the setting for Puccini’s next to serene Lake Kinrin.
Fukuoka (pp240–41), Kyushu’s opera Madame Butterfly in Glover
biggest city, is a fine intro- Garden (p246); Hollander Day 6
duction to the charms of Slope (p246), the old hilltop Takachiho (p249) is at the heart
Japan’s largest southern island. concession where the foreign of a mountainous area rich in
Meet friendly locals by pulling community lived in the 19th local mythology and natural
up a chair at one of the city’s century; plus the Atomic Bomb attractions, including caves
many famous yatai (outdoor Museum and Peace Park (p247). associated with Shinto deities
food stalls) and ordering a and the spectacular Takachiho
bowl of ramen noodles. Day 3 Gorge, which you can see from
Fukuoka’s eye-catching Its center dominated by Japan’s river level in a rowboat.
modern architecture is third-largest castle, Kumamoto
best viewed at the Canal (p248) is the ideal base from Day 7
City and Hawks Town waterside which to tour central Kyushu. With the smoking bulk of
developments. The Hakata Visit Suizen-ji Garden early in the Sakurajima Volcano (p253)
Machiya Folk Museum show- morning to avoid the crowds; brooding across the bay,
cases arts and crafts associated it’s a small stroll garden, taking Kagoshima (p252) has an
with local festivals and culture. only 30 minutes to walk around, unforgettable setting. Take a
leaving you plenty of time to boat out to the volcanic island
tour the traditional crafts center. for a closer look and for a dip in
one of its onsen. Kagoshima has
Day 4 several pleasant gardens, includ-
The town of Aso is the base for ing Sengan-e, (also known as
sightseeing around one of the Iso-teien), a well-designed aqua-
world’s biggest calderas, Mount rium, and a decent art museum.
Aso (pp248–9). Of the five volcanic
cones within the 130-km (80- To extend your trip…
mile) circumference crater, Mount The Saga Pottery Towns
Nakadake is active. A cable car Tour (p243), around
(ropeway) that goes up to its Karatsu Bay, will appeal
steaming summit is indefinitely to ceramics enthusiasts.
closed due to safety concerns. For a taste of tropical Japan,
fly to Naha City (p258),
Day 5 the capital of the southern
In the touristy onsen resort of archipelago of Okinawa
Dining at a yatai (street food stall) in the Beppu (pp238–9) drop by the (pp254–63).
center of Fukuoka Boiling Hells (Jigoku) to see

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