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Autumn trees reflected in the still waters of Lake Kinrin in Yufuin

Sample journey · 12–14 days

Japan's quieter south: Kyushu and Shikoku

Fukuoka, Nagasaki, the Aso caldera, hot-spring towns, Matsuyama, the Iya Valley and Takamatsu

Photo: Tayawee Supan / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

Kyushu is a volcanic island where the earth quite literally breathes: steam rises from city streets, a caldera is wide enough to hold villages and a railway, and hot-spring towns hide in wooded ravines. Nagasaki tells of centuries of contact with Europe and China, while Fukuoka's street food speaks of life today. Take the ferry across to Shikoku, the least-visited of Japan's main islands, and the rhythm slows further still.

This sample route is for those who have been to Japan before, or who want to see it differently. The stays are the heart of the journey: ryokan with their own springs, family-run inns in the mountains and dinners where each dish speaks of its region. The route could be shortened, slowed down or extended, and we would shape it around what matters most to you.

The route

The journey

  1. Fukuoka
  2. Nagasaki
  3. Kumamoto & Aso
  4. Kurokawa
  5. Yufuin & Beppu
  6. Matsuyama
  7. Iya Valley
  8. Takamatsu
  9. Osaka
  1. The double-arched stone Megane bridge over the river in Nagasaki

    01Days 1–4 · Fukuoka & Nagasaki

    Street food, and a port open to the world

    The journey begins in Fukuoka, where in the evenings yatai line up along the river: tiny open-air food stalls with a few stools, steaming pork-broth ramen and conversation with your neighbours. After two days a fast train reaches Nagasaki in about an hour and a half. For centuries the Dejima trading post dealt with the Dutch here, 19th-century Western houses stand on the hillside and stone bridges cross the river. Give a day both to the Peace Park and to Chinatown, where champon, the local noodle soup, is well worth trying.

  2. A green volcanic cone above a sea of cloud in the Aso caldera

    02Days 5–6 · Kumamoto & Aso

    Life inside a volcano

    On the way, Kumamoto Castle, being carefully restored after the 2016 earthquake, and lunch in town. Then the train or car climbs into the Aso caldera, one of the largest in the world, where cattle graze its green meadows and the Nakadake crater smokes at its heart. Whether you can approach it depends on the volcano's activity that day. The night is spent in a village on the caldera's edge, where on early mornings you may look out over a sea of cloud.

  3. The steaming milky-blue pool of Kamado Jigoku in Beppu

    03Days 7–9 · Kurokawa, Yufuin & Beppu

    Three hot-spring towns

    Kurokawa is a small onsen village in a wooded ravine where, with a wooden pass, you can wander from one outdoor bath to the next. Next comes Yufuin beneath the double peak of Mount Yufu: morning mist over Lake Kinrin, galleries and cafés. Finally Beppu, where steam rises from hundreds of springs and the hot pools known as 'hells' glow red and milky blue. Here a sand bath is worth trying, along with vegetables and eggs cooked in the steam.

  4. An old, many-roofed wooden bathhouse lit at dusk in a hot-spring quarter

    04Days 10–11 · Matsuyama

    A ferry to Shikoku, and an old bathhouse

    A ferry across the Bungo Strait takes about three hours to reach Yawatahama, where a train continues to Matsuyama. The city's emblem is Dogo Onsen, an old wooden public bathhouse with many roofs and a place in Japanese literature. In the evening you can stroll in a yukata among other bathers, and by day climb to Matsuyama Castle on its hill. On the way it's worth pausing in Uchiko, a small town of white-walled merchant houses and an old kabuki theatre.

  5. A suspension bridge woven from vines in the forest of the Iya Valley

    05Day 12 · Iya Valley

    Vine bridges and thatched roofs

    A train follows the river into the mountains of Shikoku, to the Oboke gorge. The Iya Valley is one of Japan's most remote corners: steep slopes, villages clinging to the mountainsides and suspension bridges woven from vines, which are renewed at regular intervals. The night is spent in a restored thatched farmhouse or a small hotel with an onsen above the gorge. The roads here are narrow and winding, so travelling with a local driver is easiest.

  6. An arched wooden bridge over a stepping-stone pond in a Japanese garden below a wooded hill

    06Days 13–14 · Takamatsu & Osaka

    A garden, udon and the way home

    The final stop is Takamatsu, where a morning is well spent in Ritsurin Garden, with its ponds, pines and teahouse, and lunch belongs to Sanuki udon, the noodles this region is famous for across Japan. The next day a train crosses the Seto Inland Sea by bridge to Okayama, and a bullet train carries you on to Osaka for the flight home.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    Fukuoka's yatai

    An evening at a tiny street-food stall, with ramen and neighbours at your elbow.

  2. 02

    The Aso caldera

    Green meadows, a smoking crater and villages inside a volcano.

  3. 03

    Onsen towns

    Kurokawa's outdoor baths, Yufuin's morning mist and Beppu's steam: three faces of the springs.

  4. 04

    The Iya Valley

    Vine bridges, deep gorges and mountain villages in one of Japan's most remote corners.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • Even slower

    Add a second night in Kurokawa and in the Iya Valley, and the journey becomes a rest among springs and mountains.

  • With the art islands

    From Takamatsu, ferries easily reach Naoshima and Teshima, the art islands of the Seto Inland Sea.

  • More history

    From Fukuoka, add the Dazaifu shrine, and in Nagasaki a day for Gunkanjima island, if the sea allows the boat to sail.

  • In another season

    In autumn the Iya Valley and Yufuin often turn to colour, and in winter the hot springs feel even more welcome.

Practical considerations

  • Spring and autumn are usually the most pleasant; summer is hot and humid, June to July is the rainy season, and from late summer into autumn typhoons may stop ferries from sailing.
  • Access to the Aso crater depends on the volcano's alert level and can change on the day; the caldera meadows and viewpoints can almost always be visited.
  • Roads in the Iya Valley are narrow and sometimes close temporarily after heavy rain, so we plan there with time in hand and a local driver.
  • Ryokan and small inns have few rooms, so they're worth planning well ahead, especially in autumn and at weekends.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

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