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Highlights of Japan - Kyushu Island, a tour by Explore Worldwide

Tour · 8 nights · with Explore Worldwide

Highlights of Japan - Kyushu Island

An eight-night escorted tour with Explore Worldwide taking in northern Kyushu’s blend of history, hot springs and volcanos, including Fukuoka, Nagasaki and the vast Aso caldera.

Duration
8 nights
Departures
13 dates
Choose a month below
Countries
Japan
Operator
Explore Worldwide
From
£2,995
per person

Highlights

What makes this one worth it

  1. Tonkotsu ramen tasting in Fukuoka

  2. Peace Park and Museum in Nagasaki

  3. Kumamoto Castle and Suizenji Jojuen Garden

  4. Mount Aso caldera and Aso-Kuju National Park

  5. Beppu’s hot spring ‘hells’ and jigoku-mushi lunch

About the trip

This small-group tour begins in Fukuoka, Kyushu’s largest city, known for its open-air food stalls and its claim to tonkotsu ramen. From the Dazaifu Tenmangu shrine’s plum trees to a tranquil park that was once part of a castle moat, the city’s quieter corners are never far away.

Next is Nagasaki, with its layered history of foreign trade, Christian heritage and the echo of 1945’s bombing at the Peace Park and Museum. Visits to Dejima island and Glover Gardens reveal still-visible traces of the Dutch and Portuguese presence before the tour heads west to Kumamoto, dominated by one of Japan’s most formidable castles and a landscape garden trimmed to a precise Japanese ideal.

The itinerary then moves deeper into Kyushu’s volcanic heart, with the vast Aso caldera and national park, a forest shrine reached by a long stone stairway, and a hot spring village hotel with communal baths. Beppu’s so-called hell springs produce steam and sulphur smells aplenty, while the final walking tour of a preserved samurai town gives an uncommon insight into Edo-period craftsmanship before returning to Fukuoka.

33°N
The route in outline: places are joined in the order visited, not by the roads or sea lanes taken.
  1. 1 Fukuoka
  2. 2 Nagasaki
  3. 3 Kumamoto
  4. 4 Mount Aso
  5. 5 Beppu

Itinerary

The route

  1. Fukuoka

  2. Nagasaki

  3. Kumamoto

  4. Mount Aso

  5. Beppu

These are the places the trip visits, in order. Explore Worldwide publishes the day-by-day itinerary on its own site.

When to go

Departures and prices

Lowest price each month, per person.

Explore Worldwide confirms exact dates, availability and prices when you book.

Need to know

Before you book

Price based on
Per personThe operator confirms the exact basis when you book.
Travelling alone
Check with Explore Worldwide
Flights
Not included: you book your own to the start
What’s included
Check with Explore Worldwide
Accessibility
Check with Explore Worldwide

For full details of what’s included, check with Explore Worldwide. See the full details on their site

Questions people ask

How long is Highlights of Japan - Kyushu Island?
Highlights of Japan - Kyushu Island is a 8 nights tour holiday.
Who operates Highlights of Japan - Kyushu Island?
Highlights of Japan - Kyushu Island is operated by Explore Worldwide.
How much does Highlights of Japan - Kyushu Island cost?
Prices for Highlights of Japan - Kyushu Island start from £2,995, subject to availability.

The operator

Explore Worldwide

Small-group adventures, walking and wildlife

Small groups with local leaders, and a fondness for the places at the end of the road. Trips are graded so you know how active they are.

You book with Explore Worldwide directly. They confirm your place, take payment, and look after you from the moment you leave home; Atlas & Passage’s part ends when you click through.

New to Japan? Our Japan guide has the practical essentials: money, plugs, visas and when to go.

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