Japan: Kyushu Hideaways 2019

Published on by Jess

It’s time to head back to Japan! This time up, we’re visiting the southern Kyushu region of Japan, known for its its ancient forests, volcanic ranges, and natural landscapes. Can’t wait to see it all!

Day 1: Tokyo > Kagoshima

We first flew into Tokyo, where we met up with the rest of our group, and then flew on to Kagoshima where we’ll begin our trip. I didn’t sleep in between leaving SF and arriving at our hotel, so it just felt like a super long day instead of two days. Even weirder was that my bday was somehow slipped in there but I missed most of it due to the time difference!

Day 2: Exploring Kagoshima

Today I woke up, looked out the window, and discovered there was a volcano out there that I couldn’t see the night before!! We started out by visiting the Sengan-en garden/historical site, hiked up a huge hill, and then took the ferry to the volcano (Sakurajima). Finally ended the day with amazing food and a gorgeous view at an overlook of the city. Super busy day, but a great start to the trip.

Day 3: Kagoshima > Yakushima

Today we did some final shopping in Kagoshima (and I rode a Ferris wheel), then we set sail via jetfoil to Yakushima, a remote island even further south. Here, we explored the island, got chased by monkeys, and ate a ton of food. Tomorrow we take a hike through the misty forest that inspired the movie Princess Mononoke. 🌳

Day 4: Yakushima > Ibusuki

We started the day with a 3-hour hike through the forest that inspired Princess Mononoke, learned how to carve our own chopsticks, then took the jetfoil to Ibusuki where we got buried in hot sand, soaked in the onsen, and played party games until late into the night. I can’t believe how much we squeeze in to every single day! I think back to what we did yesterday and it feels like a week ago. 😅

Day 5: Ibusuki > Kumamoto

After a super relaxing morning at the resort (hammocks, foot baths, a private onsen, and beach time), we took a special limited time train back to Kagoshima, then caught the Shinkansen to Kumamoto. We visited the castle here (under construction after a 2016 earthquake, so you can’t actually go in the buildings right now) and chilled at a festival for awhile.

Day 6: Kumamoto > Takachiho

We saw a more active volcano today, Mount Aso! Its last big eruption was in 2016 (remember the partially destroyed castle from yesterday? Yeah, that earthquake was from this volcano) but it’s now a 2 (out of 5) on the eruption warning scale. It’s still spewing a lot of smoke and ash which was cool to see. We also looked at two sides of a train tunnel that were never completed (both have been transformed into very unexpected attractions).

Day 7: Exploring Takachiho

We started the day in the Takachiho shrine, then hiked down to the gorge to row our way around the river, caught noodles from a bamboo slide for lunch, and saw a traditional performance that’s been passed down for around 1000 years!

Day 8: Takachiho > Miyazaki

We visited the cave where Amaterasu (from the performance yesterday) supposedly hid from the other gods, then had a long travel day to Miyazaki. It’s all worth it when we saw the resort we’re staying at though!! 😱

Day 9: Daytrip to Aoshima Island

We spent the morning at Aoshima island, then drove down to Udo Shrine, where a sea goddess gave birth to the first emperor’s father. Then back to the hotel for a completely unexpected surprise for me. 😱

Day 10: Exploring Miyazaki

Today was our day to spend however we like. It’s our last full day in the resort, so I spent a lot of time walking through the forests, biked to lunch, walked along the ocean, and ate the most expensive meal of my life!

Day 11: Miyazaki > Tokyo

We returned to Tokyo today to finish out the last few days of our trip! Our first stop was Akihabara, followed by an awesome festival with tons of food! Also, typhoon prepping. Yeah, we are aware the super typhoon is headed directly toward us. We’ll wait it out in the hotel with games and snacks. 👌

Day 12: Tokyo

Since the city shut down around noon today, we spent most of the day inside. We still had fun though!

Day 13: Tokyo

After the typhoon yesterday, everything was kind of in question today. Some things were open, some weren’t, and there was no real way to tell until we got there. We had to do a lot of spur-of-the-moment changes but it was still a fun shopping and exploring day! Tomorrow is our last full day in Japan and we’re starting to think about returning to real life. 😭

Day 14: Tokyo

This was our last full day in Tokyo! Nick and I split up from the main group for a bit to squeeze in a cat cafe we love, as well as the Ghibli museum, then we joined back up to shop in Nakano Broadway and go on an amazing boat ride dinner/karaoke session.

Day 15: Tokyo

We had a pretty lazy morning, then took a train back to the Pokémon center (which turned out to be a completely different Pokémon center, whoops?), dropped by an owl cafe, then headed to the airport. I can’t believe we’ll be back home in less than 12 hours!