Kyushu

Introduction

Kyūshū is Japan's third largest main island and the most southern. It is also one of the 8 main regions in Japan and this region also covers the Ryukyu Islands, including the main island, Okinawa.

Geography

Cities

• Beppu
• Fukuoka is the gateway to southern Japan and one of the country's major trading ports.
• Kitakyushu
• Nagasaki
• Sasebo
• Kagoshima
• Kumamoto
• Naha
• Okinawa City

Sights and Activities

Events and Festivals

Weather

Getting There

By Plane

1. Fukuoka Airport (FUK) is the main gateway. Destinations include most major Japanese cities and international destinations like Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Busan, Seoul, Qingdao, Guangzhou, Shenyang, Guam, Manila, Singapore, Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City.
2. Nagasaki Airport (NGS) serves Nagoya, Okinawa, Osaka, Tokyo and Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
3. Naha Airport (OKA) is the main gateway to Okinawa. Destinations include all of the major Japanese cities and international destinations include Seoul Incheon International Airport, Taichung, Kaohsiung, Taipei, Hong Kong International Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

To/from Naha Airport

• Rail: The Okinawa Monorail carries passengers from the airport station to the centre of Naha, and to the terminal at Shuri Station, which is closest to Shuri Castle.
• Bus: Bus service is available to many parts of Okinawa Island.
• Car: taxis and rental cars are widely available, and there are many parking places available, both for short-term as well as long-term parking.

By Train

Kyushu can easily reached by train from neighbouring Honshu and there are numerous railways operating from cities like Tokyo, Kobe, Osaka, Hiroshima and Kyoto. The main gateway on Kyushu is Fukuoka. Check the Japan Rail website for more details about schedules and prices.

By Car

By Bus

By Boat

South Korea
Mirajet has high speed ferries between Busan and Fukuoka, taking only 3 hours. JR Beetle, a Japanese based company, offers the same service.The Camellia-line ferry service is much slower (15 hours) but almost twice as cheap.

Taiwan
The weekly ferries between Keelung and Kaohsiung in Taiwan and Ishigaki and Miyako in the Okinawa Prefecture have been suspended since 2008. The trip took about 18 hours and boats left Taiwan on Mondays and Okinawa on Thursdays or Fridays. There is talk of new ferries between Japan (either Okinawa or 'mainland' Japan) and Taiwan, but up until now (October 2009) there is no ferry.

Getting Around

By Plane

By Train

Japan Rail operates a number of railways on Kyushu, with Fukuoka and Kagoshima being the north and the south gateways.

By Car

By Bus

By Boat

Eat

Drink

Sleep