Kyushu in the News
Outdoor adventures, healing quests and cultural deep-dives in Kyushu, southern Japan
Japan’s third-largest and southernmost main island, Kyushu is blessed with sunny skies, friendly people and pristine nature. The island also has a cosmopolitan present, rooted in a long history of trading with Chinese, Korean, and European merchants. The gateway to the island today is the modern city of Fukuoka, a two-hour flight from Tokyo, or two and a half hours by shinkansen (bullet train) from Osaka.
Discover Japan: Forest Bathing and Spiritual Connections
Known for its majestic old-growth forests, Yakushima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture houses towering Japanese cedar trees—some over 1,000 years old.
Discover These One-of-a-Kind Marvels in Japan
On the southern island of Kyushu lies an otherworldly paradise: two towering rock walls flanked by ancient trees, with misty waterfalls tumbling into a flow of emerald water at the base. This is Takachiho Gorge — a narrow chasm formed over 100,000 years ago by eruptions from the volcanic Mount Aso nearby. It was in this mystical setting that one of Japan's most famous mythological stories unfolded — when the sun goddess Amaterasu, angered by her brother, retreated into a cave and deprived the world of light.
Kyushu
While many people may associate Japan's main islands with temperate forests and snowcapped mountains, the climate is very different in the deep south of the country. Kyushu is a subtropical paradise with warm seas, verdant gorges and glorious beaches. See another side of Japan in this unique region.
Hokkaido
Tohoku
Greater Tokyo
Central Japan
Kansai
San'in
Setouchi
Shikoku
Kyushu
Okinawa
