Kyushu 九州, as the southern-most part of Japan (excluding the island of Okinawa), has much to offer in terms of natural scenery, outdoor activities, historical sites and food! However, as Japan’s third largest island, the distance between places is relatively long so to get the most out of your trip there, I would recommend at least 8 to 9 days.

Even then, we found that it would be too much movement tocover the entire island in one trip so eventually, we settled on North Kyushuonly. This was our travel itinerary to North Kyushu in mid December 2017 withour teen children:-

Trip Highlights:-

Beppu Kamenoi Hotel 別府亀の井ホテル – although this hotel was overrun by tourists, we recommend this for its good location, decent onsen, family rooms (all 4 of us had our own beds) and reasonable rates. 4 minutes walk from Beppu Station and near eateries, the Beppu Tower and…