Japan Roadtrip

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Western Kyushu (Saga → Nagasaki → Kumamoto → Oita) — 7 days, car

Fukuoka to Beppu through western Kyushu: Arita’s porcelain towns and Takeo Onsen, Nagasaki’s sights and night view, Mt. Aso and Kurokawa Onsen, Yabakei Gorge, and Beppu’s Hells and Yufuin.

Don't miss

champon at Nagasaki’s Shikairo, where it was invented.

  • Day 1 — Fukuoka → Saga: Arita (porcelain — Arita Porcelain Park, Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Tozan Shrine) → Takeo Onsen (Takeo Shrine, giant camphor tree) (drive ~2h). Stay Takeo. — Route map
  • Day 2 — Takeo → Nagasaki: Unzen (Nita Pass foliage) → Todoroki Valley → Nagasaki city: Glover Garden, Dejima, Peace Park, Oura Cathedral, Nagasaki champon (drive ~3h). Stay Nagasaki. — Route map
  • Day 3 — Nagasaki full day: Mt. Inasa night view (top-3 in Japan), Gunkanjima (Battleship Island) boat tour, Nagasaki museums (drive ~0.5h). Stay Nagasaki. — Route map
  • Day 4 — Nagasaki → Kumamoto: Mt. Aso outer rim (Kusasenri, Daikanbo; crater road closed — check aso-volcano.jp) → Kurokawa Onsen (riverside baths, yumeguri pass) (drive ~4h). Stay Kurokawa. — Route map
  • Day 5 — Kurokawa → Oita: Yabakei (gorge foliage, boat) → Beppu (the Hells of Beppu / Jigoku — Umi Jigoku, Chinoike Jigoku) (drive ~2.5h). Stay Beppu. — Route map
  • Day 6 — Beppu → Yufuin (Kinrin Lake, Yunotsubo street, onsen) → Kokonoe Bridge (suspension bridge over the gorge) (drive ~2h). Stay Yufuin. — Route map
  • Day 7 — Yufuin morning (Kinrin Lake, onsen) → return Fukuoka → evening shinkansen (drive ~2h). — Route map

Highlights

Mt. Inasa night view 🏙️ Mt. Inasa night view — top-3 city panorama over Nagasaki’s harbour

Gunkanjima 🌊 Gunkanjima — abandoned “Battleship Island” viewed from the boat

Glover Garden 🌿 Glover Garden — hillside Western-style mansions and gardens

Kokonoe Yume Bridge 🌉 Kokonoe Yume Bridge — Japan’s highest pedestrian suspension bridge

Arita Porcelain Park 🏛️ Arita Porcelain Park — porcelain museum in a baroque-style park

Nita Pass (Unzen) 🏔️ Nita Pass (Unzen) — ridge road with Mt. Unzen and autumn foliage

Local food & drink

  • Nagasaki champon — pork-chicken broth noodles stuffed with seafood
  • Sara udon — crispy noodles under seafood ankake
  • Kakuni manju — braised pork belly in a steamed bun
  • Yobuko squid — Saga’s ikizukuri live squid
  • Saga beef — A5 wagyu from Arita/Takeo
  • Toriten — Oita/Beppu garlic-salted chicken tempura
  • Ureshino green tea — Saga’s famed tea
  • Kyushu imo shochu — sweet-potato shochu, the regional pour Don’t miss: champon at Nagasaki’s Shikairo, where it was invented.

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