Multi-Day Tours
9-Day Kyushu Adventure: Kumamoto, Kagoshima and Fukuoka
9
DAYS
6
DESTINATIONS
4
GUESTS (MAX)
Multi-Day Tours
9-Day Kyushu Adventure: Kumamoto, Kagoshima and Fukuoka
9
DAYS
6
DESTINATIONS
4
GUESTS (MAX)
Multi-Day Tours
9-Day Kyushu Adventure: Kumamoto, Kagoshima and Fukuoka
9
DAYS
6
DESTINATIONS
4
GUESTS (MAX)
Overwiew
What You’ll Discover
Overwiew
What You’ll Discover
We designed this nine-day journey to explore Kyushu, the southern island where Japan's history, volcanic landscapes, and hot spring culture come together. We begin in Kumamoto, with its great reconstructed castle and a samurai-dressing experience, then take you through the grasslands of Mount Aso and the hot spring village of Kurokawa. Heading south to Kagoshima, we've built in the traditional Sengan-en Garden, the active volcano of Sakurajima, and the region's tea culture, followed by two nights in the Kirishima highlands, a sand bath in Ibusuki, and a ride on a scenic coastal train. We close in Fukuoka, having shaped a route that ranges from feudal castles and sacred shrines to volcanoes, onsen, and the flavours of southern Japan. This is the trip we recommend for travellers ready to see a side of Japan beyond the usual golden route.
Walk into Kumamoto Castle, one of Japan's three great castles, its steep curving stone walls climbing more than 20 meters — and dress in the robes of a samurai in a hands-on experience.
Take a ferry to Sakurajima, one of Japan's most active volcanoes, its steaming cone rising straight across the bay from Kagoshima — a mountain that still erupts to this day.
Be buried in naturally heated volcanic sand at Ibusuki — a hot-sand bath found in only a handful of places on earth — reached aboard the striking black-and-white Ibusuki no Tamatebako sightseeing train.
Soak in the open-air baths of Kurokawa Onsen, one of Japan's most beloved hot spring villages, where wooden inns line a river gorge and steam drifts through the streets.
End in Fukuoka among the yatai — the open-air food stalls of Nakasu that line the river at night, one of Japan's last great street-food scenes, where you pull up a stool for ramen and local dishes.
Highlights
Explore the Highlights of Your Journey
Highlights
Explore the Highlights of Your Journey
Sakurajima Ferry — Cross the bay to one of Japan's most active volcanoes, its steaming cone rising from the sea.
Kirishima Jingu Shrine — A mountain shrine of vivid vermilion halls set among tall cedars and drifting mist.
Yakushima — A UNESCO World Heritage island of ancient cedar forests and moss-covered, rain-fed greenery.
Sengan-en Garden — The seaside villa of the Shimazu lords, borrowing the volcano of Sakurajima as its backdrop.
Sand Bath Experience — Be buried in naturally heated volcanic sand at Ibusuki, a rare hot-sand bath by the sea.
Information
Where This Journey Takes You
Information
Where This Journey Takes You
This itinerary connects some of Japan’s most distinctive regions, combining iconic highlights with lesser-known destinations to create a seamless travel experience from start to finish.
This itinerary connects some of Japan’s most distinctive regions, combining iconic highlights with lesser-known destinations to create a seamless travel experience from start to finish.
Area
Kyushu
Duration
9 Days
Group Size (Max)
4 Guests
Destinations
6 Destinations
Accommodation
8 nights, Double/Twin room, 3–4 star hotels
Meal
Breakfast：8 | Dinner：5 (Day1.Day2.Day4.Day5.Day6)
Transport
Charter Vehicles + Shinkansen (Kumamoto→Kagoshima, Kagoshima→Fukuoka) + Ibusuki no Tamatebako sightseeing train
Pick-up
At hotel in Kumamoto City or Kumamoto Station
Drop-off
At hotel in Fukuoka City or Hakata Station
Language
Itinerary
Explore Every Moment Along the Way
Itinerary
Explore Every Moment Along the Way
Day 1
Begin Kyushu in Kumamoto. Stroll Suizen-ji Garden, a strolling garden laid out in the seventeenth century, and pick out the small grassy cone shaped to stand in for Mount Fuji among its ponds and lawns. Then dress in samurai robes for a hands-on experience at Kumamoto Castle, one of Japan's most imposing fortresses, its great curving stone walls climbing skyward. As evening falls, sink into the open-air baths of Kurokawa Onsen, one of Japan's most atmospheric hot-spring towns, steam drifting between its wooden inns along the river.
Kumamoto (Suizen-ji Garden, Kumamoto Castle, Kurokawa Onsen)
Kurokawa Onsen ryokan or hotel (3–4 star)
Dinner included
Day 1
Begin Kyushu in Kumamoto. Stroll Suizen-ji Garden, a strolling garden laid out in the seventeenth century, and pick out the small grassy cone shaped to stand in for Mount Fuji among its ponds and lawns. Then dress in samurai robes for a hands-on experience at Kumamoto Castle, one of Japan's most imposing fortresses, its great curving stone walls climbing skyward. As evening falls, sink into the open-air baths of Kurokawa Onsen, one of Japan's most atmospheric hot-spring towns, steam drifting between its wooden inns along the river.
Kumamoto (Suizen-ji Garden, Kumamoto Castle, Kurokawa Onsen)
Kurokawa Onsen ryokan or hotel (3–4 star)
Dinner included
Day 1
Begin Kyushu in Kumamoto. Stroll Suizen-ji Garden, a strolling garden laid out in the seventeenth century, and pick out the small grassy cone shaped to stand in for Mount Fuji among its ponds and lawns. Then dress in samurai robes for a hands-on experience at Kumamoto Castle, one of Japan's most imposing fortresses, its great curving stone walls climbing skyward. As evening falls, sink into the open-air baths of Kurokawa Onsen, one of Japan's most atmospheric hot-spring towns, steam drifting between its wooden inns along the river.
Kumamoto (Suizen-ji Garden, Kumamoto Castle, Kurokawa Onsen)
Kurokawa Onsen ryokan or hotel (3–4 star)
Dinner included
Day 2
Spend the day among the vast landscapes of Mount Aso, home to one of the largest volcanic calderas in the world. Walk out across Kusa-Senrigahama, a broad grassland basin cupped below the peaks of Aso, where horses graze and the smoking crater rises in the distance. Then climb the forest path to Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine, following moss-covered stone lanterns up through the trees to a great rock face with a natural opening — quiet, green, and almost otherworldly, the stillness closing in around you.
Aso (Kusa-Senrigahama, Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine)
Kurokawa Onsen ryokan or hotel (3–4 star)
Breakfast and dinner included
Day 2
Spend the day among the vast landscapes of Mount Aso, home to one of the largest volcanic calderas in the world. Walk out across Kusa-Senrigahama, a broad grassland basin cupped below the peaks of Aso, where horses graze and the smoking crater rises in the distance. Then climb the forest path to Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine, following moss-covered stone lanterns up through the trees to a great rock face with a natural opening — quiet, green, and almost otherworldly, the stillness closing in around you.
Aso (Kusa-Senrigahama, Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine)
Kurokawa Onsen ryokan or hotel (3–4 star)
Breakfast and dinner included
Day 2
Spend the day among the vast landscapes of Mount Aso, home to one of the largest volcanic calderas in the world. Walk out across Kusa-Senrigahama, a broad grassland basin cupped below the peaks of Aso, where horses graze and the smoking crater rises in the distance. Then climb the forest path to Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine, following moss-covered stone lanterns up through the trees to a great rock face with a natural opening — quiet, green, and almost otherworldly, the stillness closing in around you.
Aso (Kusa-Senrigahama, Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine)
Kurokawa Onsen ryokan or hotel (3–4 star)
Breakfast and dinner included
Day 3
Head south to Kagoshima today. Browse Sakura Machi, a bright shopping and dining complex in central Kumamoto, then board the Shinkansen and ride south down the island. From Kagoshima, cross the bay by ferry to Sakurajima, one of Japan's most active volcanoes — stand close to its steaming cone, near enough to see the ash drift on the wind and settle, on some days, as a fine grey dust on the streets of Kagoshima back across the water.
Kumamoto (Sakura Machi), Kagoshima (Sakurajima)
Kagoshima hotel (3–4 star)
Breakfast included
Shinkansen (Kumamoto → Kagoshima) is included.
Day 3
Head south to Kagoshima today. Browse Sakura Machi, a bright shopping and dining complex in central Kumamoto, then board the Shinkansen and ride south down the island. From Kagoshima, cross the bay by ferry to Sakurajima, one of Japan's most active volcanoes — stand close to its steaming cone, near enough to see the ash drift on the wind and settle, on some days, as a fine grey dust on the streets of Kagoshima back across the water.
Kumamoto (Sakura Machi), Kagoshima (Sakurajima)
Kagoshima hotel (3–4 star)
Breakfast included
Shinkansen (Kumamoto → Kagoshima) is included.
Day 3
Head south to Kagoshima today. Browse Sakura Machi, a bright shopping and dining complex in central Kumamoto, then board the Shinkansen and ride south down the island. From Kagoshima, cross the bay by ferry to Sakurajima, one of Japan's most active volcanoes — stand close to its steaming cone, near enough to see the ash drift on the wind and settle, on some days, as a fine grey dust on the streets of Kagoshima back across the water.
Kumamoto (Sakura Machi), Kagoshima (Sakurajima)
Kagoshima hotel (3–4 star)
Breakfast included
Shinkansen (Kumamoto → Kagoshima) is included.
Day 4
Give the day to Kagoshima's gardens and tea culture. Stroll Sengan-en Garden, the seaside villa of the Shimazu lords, where the ponds and tea houses borrow the whole of Sakurajima across the bay as their backdrop. Sit down at Ikeda Sencha Do to learn how sencha is brewed, then sip it slowly, the volcano framed across the water. Visit a hillside tea plantation to see how the region's leaves are grown and taste them fresh at the source — or, when the plantation is out of season, watch Kagoshima's Satsuma Kiriko cut glass take shape instead. In the evening, head up into the Kirishima highlands.
Kagoshima (Sengan-en Garden, Ikeda Sencha Do)
Kirishima hotel (3–4 star)
Breakfast and dinner included
The tea plantation visit is seasonal. When the plantation is closed, it is replaced by a Satsuma Kiriko cut-glass experience.
Day 4
Give the day to Kagoshima's gardens and tea culture. Stroll Sengan-en Garden, the seaside villa of the Shimazu lords, where the ponds and tea houses borrow the whole of Sakurajima across the bay as their backdrop. Sit down at Ikeda Sencha Do to learn how sencha is brewed, then sip it slowly, the volcano framed across the water. Visit a hillside tea plantation to see how the region's leaves are grown and taste them fresh at the source — or, when the plantation is out of season, watch Kagoshima's Satsuma Kiriko cut glass take shape instead. In the evening, head up into the Kirishima highlands.
Kagoshima (Sengan-en Garden, Ikeda Sencha Do)
Kirishima hotel (3–4 star)
Breakfast and dinner included
The tea plantation visit is seasonal. When the plantation is closed, it is replaced by a Satsuma Kiriko cut-glass experience.
Day 4
Give the day to Kagoshima's gardens and tea culture. Stroll Sengan-en Garden, the seaside villa of the Shimazu lords, where the ponds and tea houses borrow the whole of Sakurajima across the bay as their backdrop. Sit down at Ikeda Sencha Do to learn how sencha is brewed, then sip it slowly, the volcano framed across the water. Visit a hillside tea plantation to see how the region's leaves are grown and taste them fresh at the source — or, when the plantation is out of season, watch Kagoshima's Satsuma Kiriko cut glass take shape instead. In the evening, head up into the Kirishima highlands.
Kagoshima (Sengan-en Garden, Ikeda Sencha Do)
Kirishima hotel (3–4 star)
Breakfast and dinner included
The tea plantation visit is seasonal. When the plantation is closed, it is replaced by a Satsuma Kiriko cut-glass experience.
Day 5
Spend the day among art and nature in the Kirishima highlands. Wander the Kirishima Open-Air Museum, coming upon contemporary sculpture one piece at a time across rolling hills and wide sky, some works large enough to step inside. Then move on to Kirishima Jingu Shrine, a mountain shrine of vivid vermilion halls set among tall cedars, often wreathed in mist that drifts up off the slopes and softens everything around it.
Kirishima (Kirishima Open-Air Museum, Kirishima Jingu Shrine)
Kirishima hotel (3–4 star)
Breakfast and dinner included
Day 5
Spend the day among art and nature in the Kirishima highlands. Wander the Kirishima Open-Air Museum, coming upon contemporary sculpture one piece at a time across rolling hills and wide sky, some works large enough to step inside. Then move on to Kirishima Jingu Shrine, a mountain shrine of vivid vermilion halls set among tall cedars, often wreathed in mist that drifts up off the slopes and softens everything around it.
Kirishima (Kirishima Open-Air Museum, Kirishima Jingu Shrine)
Kirishima hotel (3–4 star)
Breakfast and dinner included
Day 5
Spend the day among art and nature in the Kirishima highlands. Wander the Kirishima Open-Air Museum, coming upon contemporary sculpture one piece at a time across rolling hills and wide sky, some works large enough to step inside. Then move on to Kirishima Jingu Shrine, a mountain shrine of vivid vermilion halls set among tall cedars, often wreathed in mist that drifts up off the slopes and softens everything around it.
Kirishima (Kirishima Open-Air Museum, Kirishima Jingu Shrine)
Kirishima hotel (3–4 star)
Breakfast and dinner included
Day 6
Leave the Kirishima highlands behind this morning and ride back down to Kagoshima-Chūō Station, where the Ibusuki no Tamatebako waits on the platform — a striking black-and-white sightseeing train that carries you along the coast to Ibusuki, the sea sliding past the windows almost the whole way. There, change into a light robe and lie back on the beach as attendants shovel warm, naturally heated volcanic sand over you until only your head shows — the heat and weight slowly drawing out the tension in a sand bath found in only a handful of places on earth.
Ibusuki (Ibusuki no Tamatebako train, sand bath)
Ibusuki hotel (3–4 star)
Breakfast and dinner included
Day 6
Leave the Kirishima highlands behind this morning and ride back down to Kagoshima-Chūō Station, where the Ibusuki no Tamatebako waits on the platform — a striking black-and-white sightseeing train that carries you along the coast to Ibusuki, the sea sliding past the windows almost the whole way. There, change into a light robe and lie back on the beach as attendants shovel warm, naturally heated volcanic sand over you until only your head shows — the heat and weight slowly drawing out the tension in a sand bath found in only a handful of places on earth.
Ibusuki (Ibusuki no Tamatebako train, sand bath)
Ibusuki hotel (3–4 star)
Breakfast and dinner included
Day 6
Leave the Kirishima highlands behind this morning and ride back down to Kagoshima-Chūō Station, where the Ibusuki no Tamatebako waits on the platform — a striking black-and-white sightseeing train that carries you along the coast to Ibusuki, the sea sliding past the windows almost the whole way. There, change into a light robe and lie back on the beach as attendants shovel warm, naturally heated volcanic sand over you until only your head shows — the heat and weight slowly drawing out the tension in a sand bath found in only a handful of places on earth.
Ibusuki (Ibusuki no Tamatebako train, sand bath)
Ibusuki hotel (3–4 star)
Breakfast and dinner included
Day 7
Check out of Ibusuki this morning and ride the Ibusuki no Tamatebako back up the coast to Kagoshima-Chūō Station, the sea sliding past the windows one last time. The rest of the day in the city is yours: walk the palm-lined waterfront looking across to Sakurajima, browse the covered arcades of the Tenmonkan district, cool off with a mound of shirokuma shaved ice, or sit down to the local black pork — an easy, unhurried day to enjoy Kagoshima however you like.
Kagoshima
Kagoshima hotel (3–4 star)
Breakfast included
Day 7
Check out of Ibusuki this morning and ride the Ibusuki no Tamatebako back up the coast to Kagoshima-Chūō Station, the sea sliding past the windows one last time. The rest of the day in the city is yours: walk the palm-lined waterfront looking across to Sakurajima, browse the covered arcades of the Tenmonkan district, cool off with a mound of shirokuma shaved ice, or sit down to the local black pork — an easy, unhurried day to enjoy Kagoshima however you like.
Kagoshima
Kagoshima hotel (3–4 star)
Breakfast included
Day 7
Check out of Ibusuki this morning and ride the Ibusuki no Tamatebako back up the coast to Kagoshima-Chūō Station, the sea sliding past the windows one last time. The rest of the day in the city is yours: walk the palm-lined waterfront looking across to Sakurajima, browse the covered arcades of the Tenmonkan district, cool off with a mound of shirokuma shaved ice, or sit down to the local black pork — an easy, unhurried day to enjoy Kagoshima however you like.
Kagoshima
Kagoshima hotel (3–4 star)
Breakfast included
Day 8
Ride the Shinkansen north to Fukuoka. On the coast nearby, stand before Sakurai Futamigaura, where a white torii gate faces straight out to sea and the Meoto Iwa, or Couple Rocks, rise together from the water, joined by a thick sacred rope. Wait on the shore as the low sun settles toward the horizon and catches the two rocks and the gate — the view at its finest when the light is soft and the tide is right.
Fukuoka (Sakurai Futamigaura)
Fukuoka hotel (3–4 star)
Breakfast included
Shinkansen (Kagoshima → Fukuoka) is included.
Day 8
Ride the Shinkansen north to Fukuoka. On the coast nearby, stand before Sakurai Futamigaura, where a white torii gate faces straight out to sea and the Meoto Iwa, or Couple Rocks, rise together from the water, joined by a thick sacred rope. Wait on the shore as the low sun settles toward the horizon and catches the two rocks and the gate — the view at its finest when the light is soft and the tide is right.
Fukuoka (Sakurai Futamigaura)
Fukuoka hotel (3–4 star)
Breakfast included
Shinkansen (Kagoshima → Fukuoka) is included.
Day 8
Ride the Shinkansen north to Fukuoka. On the coast nearby, stand before Sakurai Futamigaura, where a white torii gate faces straight out to sea and the Meoto Iwa, or Couple Rocks, rise together from the water, joined by a thick sacred rope. Wait on the shore as the low sun settles toward the horizon and catches the two rocks and the gate — the view at its finest when the light is soft and the tide is right.
Fukuoka (Sakurai Futamigaura)
Fukuoka hotel (3–4 star)
Breakfast included
Shinkansen (Kagoshima → Fukuoka) is included.
Day 9
Spend the final day in and around Fukuoka. Walk the lively approach to Dazaifu Tenmangū Shrine, dedicated to the deity of learning, its grounds famous for plum trees — and pause for a freshly griddled umegae-mochi, a warm rice cake stamped with a plum crest, before stepping into the shrine. Back in the city, ride the elevator up Fukuoka Tower, press close to the glass, and look out over the city and across Hakata Bay. As night falls, pull up a stool at the yatai of Nakasu — open-air food stalls strung along the river — for a bowl of tonkotsu ramen to close the journey.
Fukuoka (Dazaifu, Fukuoka Tower, Nakasu Yatai)
Breakfast included
Day 9
Spend the final day in and around Fukuoka. Walk the lively approach to Dazaifu Tenmangū Shrine, dedicated to the deity of learning, its grounds famous for plum trees — and pause for a freshly griddled umegae-mochi, a warm rice cake stamped with a plum crest, before stepping into the shrine. Back in the city, ride the elevator up Fukuoka Tower, press close to the glass, and look out over the city and across Hakata Bay. As night falls, pull up a stool at the yatai of Nakasu — open-air food stalls strung along the river — for a bowl of tonkotsu ramen to close the journey.
Fukuoka (Dazaifu, Fukuoka Tower, Nakasu Yatai)
Breakfast included
Day 9
Spend the final day in and around Fukuoka. Walk the lively approach to Dazaifu Tenmangū Shrine, dedicated to the deity of learning, its grounds famous for plum trees — and pause for a freshly griddled umegae-mochi, a warm rice cake stamped with a plum crest, before stepping into the shrine. Back in the city, ride the elevator up Fukuoka Tower, press close to the glass, and look out over the city and across Hakata Bay. As night falls, pull up a stool at the yatai of Nakasu — open-air food stalls strung along the river — for a bowl of tonkotsu ramen to close the journey.
Fukuoka (Dazaifu, Fukuoka Tower, Nakasu Yatai)
Breakfast included
Policies
Important Travel Information
Policies
Important Travel Information
Talk to Our Team
Every journey is different. Our Japan Travel Specialists are here to answer your questions, refine every detail, and help you choose the itinerary that best matches your interests, travel style, and pace.
Inclusions
- Pick up and drop off service - Charter Vehicles - Tour Guide (Gratuity excluded) - Accommodations (8 nights, Double/Twin room, 3-4 star) - Meal (Breakfast / Dinner: Day1.Day2.Day4.Day5.Day6) - Entrance tickets and activities in the itineraries. - Shinkansen (Kumamoto - Kagoshima) - Tamatebako Sightseeing Train to Ibusuki - Shikansen (Kagoshima - Fukuoka) - Inbound Travel Insurance
Exclusions
Cancellation
Additional Info
Talk to Our Team
Every journey is different. Our Japan Travel Specialists are here to answer your questions, refine every detail, and help you choose the itinerary that best matches your interests, travel style, and pace.
Talk to Our Team
Every journey is different. Our Japan Travel Specialists are here to answer your questions, refine every detail, and help you choose the itinerary that best matches your interests, travel style, and pace.
Talk to Our Team
Every journey is different. Our Japan Travel Specialists are here to answer your questions, refine every detail, and help you choose the itinerary that best matches your interests, travel style, and pace.
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