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Hidden Japan: Spirit of Kyushu

12 days Go Beyond Group Tour

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Hidden Japan: Spirit of Kyushu

Ideal for curious travellers and second-time visitors to Japan, the lesser-visited island of Kyushu offers a blend of rich culture and natural beauty. Witness a soul-stirring drum performance, admire steaming volcanoes, and soak in bubbling onsen baths on this journey into Kyushu's green and wild heart.

  • Included Meals
    Breakfasts: 9 , Lunches: 5 , Dinners: 7
  • Flights
    International flights and current taxes
  • Accommodation
    9 nights in 3+/4 star accommodation
  • Group Tour
    Max Group Size: 18
  • Physical Rating 1
    A reasonable level of fitness is required but it's more about spending time on your feet rather than covering large distances. You'll be getting on and off coaches and boats, walking around the sights and climbing some steps.
    Learn More
    Walking, some steps and time on your feet.
Go Beyond Group Tour
12 DAYS
From $11,880PP
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Tour Highlights

Our Hidden Japan: Spirit of Kyushu tour will see you exploring the most iconic sites, delving into deep-rooted culture and dining on delicious cuisine and thoroughly researched to bring you a range of once-in-a-lifetime experiences, many of which are entirely exclusive to us.

Day by Day Itinerary

  • Days 1-2
    Fly to Fukuoka
    Dinner
    Days 1-2: Fly to Fukuoka

    Fly to Fukuoka, the gateway to Kyushu. Depending on your time of arrival, the rest of the day is yours to start soaking up the local culture before dinner.

    Dinner
  • Day 3
    Fukuoka
    Breakfast, Lunch
    Day 3: Fukuoka

    Begin your island adventure with a visit to the Kyushu National Museum, where you'll gain an insight into its long and storied history before lunch at a local winery. On select November departures, if availability permits, you will enjoy an authentic Japanese experience – Fukuoka's annual sumo tournament! This evening, head to Fukuoka's Nakasu district, famous for its yatai – street food stalls serving iconic Japanese foods from yakitori skewers to delicious ramen. Soak up the atmosphere here, popular with locals relaxing after work. The rest of your evening is at leisure – if you wish, why not stay longer and sample the yatai food independently?

    Breakfast, Lunch
  • Day 4
    Okawachiyama
    Breakfast, Dinner
    Day 4: Okawachiyama

    Drive to Nagasaki, enjoying several stops en route. First, soak up the harbour views at Karatsu Castle. Then, head to Imari, famous for its ceramics, and observe a potter at work. Take some free time in nearby Okawachiyama, known for its lovely porcelain and nicknamed 'The Village of Secret Kilns. Enjoy lunch independently and browse the town's many ceramics shops. The streets here are a delight to wander, with intriguing porcelain sculptures and a beautifully tiled bridge. Later, sip a cup of green tea in Ureshino. If your visit falls outside the workers' busiest season (March-June), you may be lucky enough to meet a local farmer and hear about life in the tea fields. Continue to Nagasaki.

    Breakfast, Dinner
  • Day 5
    Nagasaki
    Breakfast
    Day 5: Nagasaki

    Pay your respects at the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum and Peace Park, where you'll hear the devastating story of the 1945 atomic bomb, its aftermath, and how Nagasaki rebuilt itself from the ashes. Later, visit Dejima Wharf, once the only permitted entry point for European traders into Japan. Lunch is at leisure among the various waterfront cafés here, from which you can admire yachts and fishing boats bobbing in Nagasaki harbour. Continue to Glover Garden, a hillside park filled with the manors of European traders from the 19th century.

    Breakfast
  • Day 6
    Kuju Onsen
    Breakfast, Dinner
    Day 6: Kuju Onsen

    Drive to Shimabara and hop on the 60-minute ferry to Kumamoto, where you can enjoy some free time for lunch. Continue to Mount Aso and take photos of its vast crater. Finally, drive on to the charming town of Tsuetate Onsen, or the wider Kuju area. Here, check in at your ryokan – a traditional Japanese inn with tatami mat floors. The evening is at leisure to relax in the hotel's beautiful hot spring onsen – choose from indoor pools or a selection of open-air baths.

    Breakfast, Dinner
  • Day 7
    Meditation & Open-Air Drums
    Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Day 7: Meditation & Open-Air Drums

    Begin the day at the serene Fuko-ji Temple, where a stone stairway will bring you to a cliffside cave with beautiful views over a quiet valley. Here, experience a short meditation session led by a Buddhist monk. Continue to the lovely Kuju Flower Park, where a kaleidoscope of colours covers the 49-acre parkland from spring to autumn. This afternoon's experience is truly special: a soul-stirring display of traditional drumming, performed on an open-air stage against the dramatic backdrop of Aso-Kuju National Park. At an elevation of 1,036 metres, this incredible venue is known as 'the theatre in the sky'. Afterwards, stop by the museum to see a display of the troupe's elaborate drumming costumes before returning to your ryokan.

    Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
  • Day 8
    Takachiho Gorge & Kirishima Hills
    Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Day 8: Takachiho Gorge & Kirishima Hills

    Drive south to Takachiho Gorge, one of Kyushu's most famous natural wonders. Here, the beautiful Gokake River runs through a mesmerising 80-metre-deep chasm between basalt cliffs, formed by volcanic eruptions from 100,000 years ago. Take time for photos at the gorge. Afterwards, get hands-on with a cooking experience, discovering the taste of Takachihostyle chicken or vegetables, seasoned and simmered inside bamboo. Continue to your hotel in the Kirishima Hills, nestled at the edge of Kirishima National Park.

    Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
  • Day 9
    Kamikaze & Kagoshima
    Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Day 9: Kamikaze & Kagoshima

    Drive down the Satsuma Peninsula to Chiran, a former samurai town from which hundreds of kamikaze pilots flew to their deaths at the Battle of Okinawa. Learn their story at the Chiran Peace Museum, which displays their photographs, farewell letters, and two recovered planes. Later, take a walk through Chiran's samurai district before driving to Kagoshima. After lunch, visit the scenic Sengan-en Garden, where you can try on a traditional kimono! This afternoon, take the ferry to Mount Sakurajima, a dramatic volcano in Kagoshima Bay. Enjoy a refreshing open-air footbath before returning to Kirishima.

    Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
  • Day 10
    Flavours of Kagoshima
    Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
    Day 10: Flavours of Kagoshima

    Don't leave Kagoshima Prefecture without tasting its shochu – a distilled local liquor, popular across Japan. Stop by a shochu distillery for a tasting before learning about another local speciality – 'kurozo', or black vinegar! Kagoshima's 'black gold' has an earthy umami flavour from being aged in pots under the Japanese sun. Admire the rows of black 'tsubo' pots and enjoy lunch at the producer's restaurant. Finally, drive to Kagoshima City, where the bullet train will whisk you back to Fukuoka in just 90 minutes, ahead of tonight's farewell dinner.

    Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
  • Day 11
    12 Fly Fukuoka to New Zealand
    Breakfast
    Day 11 - 12: Fly Fukuoka to New Zealand

    Fly to New Zealand, arriving home the same or following day.

    Breakfast
Hidden Japan: Spirit of Kyushu map
Fukuoka (2N) - Nagasaki (2N) - Kumamoto - Kuju Onsen (2N) - Mount Aso - Kirishima Hills (2N) - Kagoshima - Mount Sakurajima - Fukuoka (1N)

Download Tour Dossier & Trip Notes

Accommodation

We draw from a wide range of hotels on our holidays, each one is chosen to suit the tour you are travelling on meaning your accommodation can range from a smart business hotel in one city to a family run guesthouse in a smaller town. Here are some examples of the type of hotel you can expect to find on this tour.

Book With Confidence

When to go

City
Min
Average Temperate(°C)
Max
Monthly Rainfall(mm)
  • Kumamoto
  • 1
    10
    6
  • 60
  • Nagasaki
  • 4
    10
    7
  • 64
City
Min
Average Temperate(°C)
Max
Monthly Rainfall(mm)
  • Kumamoto
  • 2
    12
    7
  • 83
  • Nagasaki
  • 4
    12
    8
  • 86
City
Min
Average Temperate(°C)
Max
Monthly Rainfall(mm)
  • Kumamoto
  • 6
    16
    11
  • 138
  • Nagasaki
  • 7
    15
    11
  • 132
City
Min
Average Temperate(°C)
Max
Monthly Rainfall(mm)
  • Kumamoto
  • 10
    21
    16
  • 146
  • Nagasaki
  • 12
    20
    16
  • 151
City
Min
Average Temperate(°C)
Max
Monthly Rainfall(mm)
  • Kumamoto
  • 15
    26
    20
  • 196
  • Nagasaki
  • 16
    24
    20
  • 179
City
Min
Average Temperate(°C)
Max
Monthly Rainfall(mm)
  • Kumamoto
  • 20
    28
    24
  • 405
  • Nagasaki
  • 20
    26
    23
  • 315
City
Min
Average Temperate(°C)
Max
Monthly Rainfall(mm)
  • Kumamoto
  • 24
    32
    28
  • 401
  • Nagasaki
  • 24
    30
    27
  • 314
City
Min
Average Temperate(°C)
Max
Monthly Rainfall(mm)
  • Kumamoto
  • 24
    33
    29
  • 174
  • Nagasaki
  • 25
    32
    28
  • 195
City
Min
Average Temperate(°C)
Max
Monthly Rainfall(mm)
  • Kumamoto
  • 21
    30
    25
  • 170
  • Nagasaki
  • 22
    29
    25
  • 189
City
Min
Average Temperate(°C)
Max
Monthly Rainfall(mm)
  • Kumamoto
  • 14
    25
    19
  • 79
  • Nagasaki
  • 16
    24
    20
  • 86
City
Min
Average Temperate(°C)
Max
Monthly Rainfall(mm)
  • Kumamoto
  • 8
    18
    13
  • 81
  • Nagasaki
  • 11
    18
    15
  • 86
City
Min
Average Temperate(°C)
Max
Monthly Rainfall(mm)
  • Kumamoto
  • 3
    13
    8
  • 54
  • Nagasaki
  • 6
    13
    10
  • 61

Pricing & Availability

All of our tour departures include international flights and taxes in the price unless a land only option is selected

2025
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Departure: All
  • Departure: All
1 Room, 2 Guests
  • 1 Room, 2 Guests
  • 1 Room, 1 Guest
    Depart NZStart Date
    Return DateEnd Date
    Price
    Availability

    Group Tour includes

    • International flights and current taxes
    • Domestic transportation
    • 3* plus – 4* accommodation, including overnight stays in a ryokan
    • Meals as stated
    • Touring with guides and entrance fees

    Important Information For Your Tour

    Before Booking
    Travel Protection, Booking Conditions
    and more
    Before you go
    Passports & Visas, Travel Guides & Packing Lists, Holiday FAQ’s and more

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