Category
Kyushu
Kyushu is Japan's southern island — and one of its most overlooked. From the hot springs of Beppu to the ramen of Fukuoka, the castles of Kumamoto to the history of Nagasaki. I live here, and I know the places that never make it into guidebooks.
What Makes Kyushu Special
Beppu & Oita
The hot spring capital of Japan. More onsen than anywhere else on earth — and most tourists only scratch the surface.
Fukuoka
Home of Hakata ramen, fresh seafood, and a food culture that rivals Tokyo — with a fraction of the crowds.
Kumamoto
A beautifully restored castle, the dramatic Aso volcanic highlands, and local dishes you won't find anywhere else.
Nagasaki
Japan's most historically layered city — Portuguese, Dutch, Chinese, and atomic history all in one place.
Kagoshima
The Naples of Japan. Active volcano, black pork, and a gateway to the islands of the deep south.
Miyazaki
Subtropical coastline, ancient shrines, and local food culture that most visitors never reach.
Kyushu Articles
Where to Stay in Beppu: A Local's Area-by-Area Hotel Guide
Beppu has eight hot-spring districts and your choice changes the whole trip. A local breaks down where to stay — seafront hotels, the steam of Kannawa, the Suginoi resort, private-bath ryokan — with booking tips and autumn's festival season.
Kumamoto City Guide: The Unbreakable Castle, a Borrowed-Fuji Garden & the Gateway to Aso
Kumamoto is Kyushu's stoic heart — home to one of Japan's three great castles (rebuilt after the 2016 earthquake), a serene stroll garden, garlicky tonkotsu ramen, and the road to Mount Aso. A local's complete guide.
Kagoshima City Guide: The Naples of the East — Volcano Views, Samurai History & Black Pork
Kagoshima lives in the shadow of an erupting volcano and on the legacy of the clan that built modern Japan. A local's guide to the city — Sengan-en garden, the last samurai's story, kurobuta pork, and the gateway south to Ibusuki.
The Hells of Beppu: An Honest Guide to the Jigoku Meguri (Which to See, Which to Skip)
Beppu's seven 'hells' are boiling ponds in impossible colors — cobalt blue, blood red, geyser white. A local who's done the circuit many times ranks all seven honestly, with the route, the ticket math, and the hell-steamed snacks.
The Ampharos Trail: Nagasaki's 10 Pokémon Manholes, from City Trams to Island Churches
Nagasaki chose Ampharos — the Pokémon that lights a lighthouse — as its ambassador, and scattered 10 Pokéfuta across the prefecture: city, onsen town, and remote islands. The hunting guide for Japan's most maritime trail.
The Fukuoka Pokéfuta Route: 8 Pokémon Manholes, 2 Historic Towns, 1 Day
Fukuoka Prefecture hides 8 Pokémon manhole covers in two perfect clusters — 3 around Dazaifu's great shrine and 5 in retro Kitakyushu. The exact one-day route by train, with the food and history stops that make it a real itinerary.
The Exeggutor Trail: Road-Tripping All 26 Pokémon Manholes of Miyazaki
Miyazaki appointed Exeggutor its official ambassador and installed a unique Pokéfuta manhole in all 26 of its municipalities. The complete road-trip plan — coastal routes, mountain detours, and the best chicken nanban along the way.
The Ibusuki Eevee Trail: All 9 Pokémon Manholes + Sand Baths in One Perfect Half-Day
Ibusuki sounds like 'Eevee-suki' — so the town installed all nine Eevee-family Pokéfuta manholes, the only complete set on Earth. The exact route by bike or car, plus the volcanic sand bath that makes it a perfect day.
Takachiho Gorge: Rowing Through the Birthplace of Japanese Mythology
Takachiho is where Japan's sun goddess hid in a cave and the world went dark — and where you can row a boat beneath a waterfall through a volcanic gorge. The complete guide: boats, shrines, night kagura, and honest logistics.
Nagasaki City Guide: History, Champon & the Best Night View in Japan
Nagasaki is Japan's most internationally layered city — Portuguese missionaries, the Dutch island of Dejima, the atomic bomb, and a food culture like nowhere else. How to visit it well, from a Kyushu local.
Mount Aso: Inside One of the World's Largest Volcanic Calderas
Mount Aso is Japan at national-park scale — a caldera 25km across with grasslands, a steaming turquoise crater, red wagyu, and roads that beg for a rental car. The complete guide from a Kyushu local.
Tsushima Island: Visiting the Real Ghost of Tsushima (What the Game Got Right)
Tsushima is a real island — a wild, 89%-forested border outpost where the Mongols really invaded in 1274. How to get there from Fukuoka, what matches the game, what doesn't, and why it's worth it anyway.
Tattoo-Friendly Onsen in Kyushu: Why Beppu Is the Best Place in Japan to Bathe with Ink
Have tattoos and want to try a Japanese onsen? Beppu is officially Japan's most tattoo-friendly hot spring city, with 100+ welcoming baths. A local explains the rules, the safe options, and exactly where to go.
Sakurajima: Visiting the Volcano That Erupts Over a City of 600,000
Sakurajima erupts hundreds of times a year while Kagoshima city carries on across the bay. How to visit one of Earth's most active volcanoes — the ferry, the buried shrine gate, and the ash-dusted daily life.
Pokémon in Kyushu: Pokéfuta Manhole Hunting, Pokémon Center Fukuoka & Exeggutor's Miyazaki
Kyushu is quietly one of Japan's best Pokémon destinations — 26 Exeggutor manholes in Miyazaki, an Eevee trail in Ibusuki, and the relocated Pokémon Center Fukuoka. A local's complete hunting guide.
Harmonyland Oita: The Complete Guide to Japan's Outdoor Sanrio Theme Park
Harmonyland is Sanrio's outdoor theme park in Oita, 20 minutes from Beppu. A local's honest guide — who should go, what to do, how to combine it with Beppu onsen, and what the tourist guides miss.
Suginoi Hotel Beppu: The Complete Guide to Japan's Most Ambitious Onsen Resort
Suginoi Hotel sits 250 meters above Beppu Bay with 9 hot spring facilities, 5 restaurants, an indoor waterpark, a Gold's Gym, and three distinct accommodation wings. A local's complete guide.
Beppu Onsen Guide: The Honest Version from Someone Who Lives 15 Minutes Away
Beppu has 2,800 hot spring sources — more than anywhere in Japan. A local from Oita explains which hells to skip, where the ¥110 bathhouses are, and what makes this city unlike anywhere else on earth.
Anime Holy Lands of Kyushu: The Seichi Junrei Guide
Kyushu is the birthplace of Demon Slayer, Attack on Titan, One Piece, and more. Walk the same streets and shrines that inspired these stories — from Beppu to the Goto Islands.
Kurokawa Onsen: The Honest Guide from Someone Who Knows Kyushu's Hot Springs
No trains, no convenience stores, no neon signs — Kurokawa is Japan's most atmospheric onsen village. Here's how to visit it properly, from someone who's been multiple times.
Yufuin vs Beppu: An Oita Local Tells You Which One to Visit (Or Both)
Most guides give you a generic comparison. I live 15 minutes from Beppu and have been to both more times than I can count. Here's what I actually think.
Castles & Warlords of Kyushu: Complete Guide to All 7 Prefectures
A complete guide to the castles, clans, and historical figures of all seven Kyushu prefectures. 28 castle sites, 50+ historical figures, from a prehistoric queen to the last samurai.
Castles & Warlords of Saga: From Hideyoshi's War Base to Japan's First Modern Government
Saga Prefecture has more history per square kilometer than almost anywhere in Japan. A 2,000-year-old prehistoric city, the castle Hideyoshi built to invade Korea, and the domain that produced Japan's Meiji-era leaders.
48 Castles, One Midnight Flight: Miyazaki's Rise, Fall & the Little Kyoto of Kyushu
The Ito clan built 48 castles across an entire province — then lost it all in a single year when 300 Shimazu troops destroyed an army of 3,000. Their castle town of Obi, the 'Little Kyoto of Kyushu', is the most complete surviving samurai town in southern Japan.
The Castle That Inspired Star Wars: Fukuoka's Warlords, Duels & Hidden Fortress
A mountain fortress named Akizuki inspired Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress, which inspired George Lucas to create Star Wars. Nearby: the duel that ended Miyamoto Musashi's career, a female warlord who commanded armies at 12, and a castle whose keep may never have existed.
Warlords, Missionaries & a Song That Never Ends: Oita's Castle History
The Christian warlord who sent Japan's first mission to the Pope. The strategist on the ¥10,000 note. And ruins so beautiful they inspired Japan's most beloved classical song — Oka Castle, rated by enthusiasts as the finest castle ruins in all of Japan.
The Castle That Could Not Be Taken: Kumamoto, Musashi & the Last Samurai
Kumamoto Castle was designed never to fall — and in 1877 it proved it, holding off 20,000 samurai for 50 days. Nearby, a cave where Japan's greatest swordsman wrote his final masterpiece in the two weeks before he died.
A Person Is the Castle: Kagoshima's Shimazu Clan, Saigo Takamori & the Last Samurai
The Shimazu ruled Satsuma for 700 years — longer than any clan in Japanese history. Their men built modern Japan. Then one of them led the last samurai rebellion, and died on a hill behind the castle he'd helped defend.
Castles, Christians & the Outside World: Nagasaki Prefecture's Most Dramatic History
A teenage boy who led 37,000 people to their deaths. An English sailor who became a samurai. Japan's first Western trading port. And the last feudal castle ever built. Nagasaki's castles tell a story unlike anywhere else.
Free & Cheap Onsen in Beppu: A Local's Budget Guide
Beppu has nearly 100 public baths — and some cost nothing. From ¥100 neighbourhood baths to a completely free city-run onsen.