Highlights

  • Unravel the mysteries of the Usuki Stone Buddhas
  • Unwind in onsen hot springs after days full of exploration
  • Learn about Kyūshū’s unique history, which blends traditional Japanese customs with foreign influences
  • Take in the scope of the Mount Aso caldera, the largest in Japan
  • Experience rural Kyūshū life and hospitality with a local farm stay
  • Enjoy a mix of walking days as you hike through splendid nature, and exploration days that guide you through culturally significant areas

Kyūshū is the third largest of Japan’s four major islands, situated in the southwest part of the country. Considered the cradle of Japanese civilisation, Kyūshū also holds a place in history as the gateway to Japan. It was through here that foreign traders arrived in Japan, and the centuries of trade and foreign exchange formed the region’s cultural fabric just as surely as its volcanic activity formed its land. Even during the Edo period, when Japan famously sequestered itself from outside influence, foreign merchants from a select few countries were able to conduct business via Nagasaki’s trading post of Dejima. Christianity, banned by the Tokugawa shogunate, was tolerated in certain areas, giving rise to groups of ‘Hidden Christians’ who couched their worship in the trappings of Shintoism and Buddhism to hide it from authorities.

All this took place on an island whose volatile earth shaped the lives of those around it. Hot spring villages and settlements built within the calderas of volcanoes are a testament to human innovation and the ability to live in any circumstances.

Our tour, Kyushu’s Hidden History: Self-guided Walk and Explore, takes you through the centre of the island, from the onsen town of Beppu on the eastern coast all the way to Nagasaki in the west. The destinations you’ll travel to along the way include Usuki, once the domain of a Christian daimyō and the home of dozens of mysterious Buddhist sculptures; the Kusasenri Plain, located in the sprawling Aso Caldera (large enough to hold a city!); and Mount Unzen, a dramatic grouping of volcanic peaks and geothermal vents with a similarly dramatic history.

Your journey will focus on exploration, discovery, and learning – if you wanted to know more about Kyūshū’s unique place in Japanese history, then this is the tour for you!

This tour features three unforgettable walks, all up mountain trails that lead to breathtaking viewpoints. The first of these will be on the lovely Ōnyūjima, as the finale of a stroll around the island; the next, up one of the peaks that make up the massive Mount Aso. Finally, you will hike up one of Mount Unzen’s peaks to take in views of the Shimabara Peninsula.

Alongside these fantastic hikes, you will have the chance to explore the region’s cultural landmarks: in addition to detailed, turn-by-turn walking directions for walking days, our Walking Guidebook also provides you with recommended highlights and exploration routes for sightseeing days, as well as important historical information to help paint you a background picture and deepen your understanding of the area.

About Exploration Days

In addition to its classic Hiking Days, our Kyūshū’s Hidden History: Self-guided Walk and Explore tour features special sections called Exploration Days. In your guidebook, Hiking Days include detailed, turn-by-turn walking directions along beautiful trails and up mountain paths. Meanwhile, our Exploration Days introduce key highlights found in culturally important areas such as Taketa and Nagasaki, explaining how they fit into the full picture of the region’s history, and present you with recommended routes for the day to visit these highlights at your leisure.

If you love hiking and the occasional climb up a mountain trail, punctuated with days exploring cities and historic towns on foot, this tour may be for you!

Are you ready to delve into Kyūshū’s secrets?

What is included

  • 7 nights at accommodations
  • 7 breakfasts and 4 dinners
  • Train tickets for intermediate journeys on the trip
  • Ferry from Kumamoto Port to Shimabara Port
  • Detailed day-by-day itinerary and walking directions
  • Detailed maps
  • Our Preparing for Your Trip and Travelling in Japan guidebooks
  • Local support by telephone
  • Entrance fees for the Usuki Stone Buddhas
  • 4 pre-paid taxis

What is not included

 

  • Flights
  • Airport transfers
  • Transportation to your starting point in Beppu and onwards from Nagasaki at the end of your trip
  • Drinks and meals not included in itinerary
  • Local bus journeys which must be paid directly to the bus driver
  • Cable car from Mount Myōkendake to Nita-tōge Pass
  • Single room supplement(s) for solo occupancy
  • Daily luggage transfer
  • Entrance fees for sites and activities not listed in 'What's Included'

 

Kyushu’s Hidden History: Self-guided Walk and Explore

(subject to change until the booking has been finalized)

Day 1 (Exploration Day): Arrive in Beppu

An Exploration Day that takes you through the steamy streets of Beppu, to its most memorable hot springs and businesses that have, for generations, made their livelihood from the earth’s volatility.

Today, make your way to Ōita Prefecture and arrive in Beppu, known as one of the largest hot spring areas in Japan. You’ll have time to explore the area, enjoying unique experiences such as cooking over natural steam vents or even immersing yourself in a hot sand bath!

Stay in Beppu for the evening, perhaps relaxing in an onsen hot spring after dinner.

Walking distance: Allow for roughly 5 km / 3 mi of walking to get the most out of your Exploration Day.

Accommodation: Onsen ryokan (hot spring ryokan) or minshuku (family-run guesthouse)
Meals: Dinner

Day 2 (Hiking Day): Hike on Onyujima Island

In the morning, travel to Saiki and take a ferry to lovely Ōnyūjima Island, the site for today’s walk.
After sampling some local cuisine for lunch, you will set out on your adventure around the island, traversing through tucked-away bays, idyllic coastlines, and mikan mandarin orange farms, leading up to a mountain peak and a stunning view.

You will spend the night at a local farm, where you will get an intimate look at the area’s rural lifestyle.

Walking distance: 6.3 km / 3.9 mi
Elevation gain: 235 m / 771 ft
Time required: About 3 hours

Accommodation: Farm stay
Meals: Breakfast, dinner

Day 3 (Exploration Day): Sightsee in the Castle Town of Usuki and Visit the Usuki Stone Buddhas

An Exploration Day through a once-prosperous castle town’s preserved streets, followed by a trip to the enigmatic Usuki Stone Buddhas.

Spend today exploring the atmospheric castle town of Usuki. Foreign trade with Dutch, Portuguese, and Chinese merchants, facilitated by the Christian daimyō Ōtomo Sōrin, resulted in cultural exchange and a rich history.

You’ll learn more about said history on your visit to the ruins of Usuki Castle and the Niōza Historical Road, home to an array of preserved buildings and fascinating temples.

Later, you will visit the Usuki Stone Buddhas, shrouded in mystery: who carved these statues and why?
End your day in Ōita with a rest at your hotel before tomorrow’s adventure.

Walking distance: Allow for roughly 5 km / 3 mi of walking to get the most out of your Exploration Day.

Accommodation: Western-style hotel
Meals: Breakfast

Day 4 (Exploration Day): Sightsee in Taketa

An Exploration Day focusing on the lives of Taketa’s samurai nobility and on the legacy of its Hidden Christians.

Today you will visit Taketa, a rural area that stands out in history for its tolerance of Christianity during a period in Japan’s history when the religion was widely suppressed.

Old-fashioned stores, cafés, and sweets shops line the streets; some of these stores have been passed down from generation to generation for centuries! Visit the preserved Samurai Residential Street, previously home to high-ranking samurai, and go on to visit the ruins of the once-impregnable Oka Castle. Once you make your way to the top, enjoy the view over the surrounding area – on a nice day you may even see Mount Aso.

Afterwards, travel to a renowned onsen town and reinvigorate yourself in soothing onsen hot spring waters.

Walking distance: Allow for roughly 5 km / 3 mi of walking to get the most out of your Exploration Day.

Accommodation: Onsen ryokan (hot spring ryokan)
Meals: Breakfast, dinner

Day 5 (Hiking Day): Visit Mount Aso and Hike Mount Eboshidake

After enjoying your breakfast, you will head to the Kusasenri area, a lovely grassy plain in the shadow of Mount Aso. Hike up to the peak of Mount Eboshidake, which stands at 1,337 metres and is one of the mountains that make up the Mount Aso group. From the top, enjoy incredible views of the surrounding area; when the weather is clear, you may even catch a glimpse of Mount Unzen, which you will visit tomorrow.

Afterwards, travel to your accommodation for the night.

Walking distance: 4.2 km / 2.6 mi
Elevation gain: 216 m / 709 ft of ascent and descent
Time required: About 2 hours

Today, we also offer a shorter alternative of about 1 hour (2 km / 1.2 mi) with negligible ascent and descent.

Accommodation: Western-style hotel
Meals: Breakfast

Day 6 (Hiking Day): Travel to Shimabara Port and Hike Moun Unzen

Today, hop on a bus and then a ferry to head to the Shimabara Peninsula. From the port, a taxi will take you to the start of your hike. Your goal of the day will be the peak of Mount Myōkendake, one of the mountains that make up the Mount Unzen cluster. Take in the view of the surrounding peninsula and the ocean, then descend either by foot or by cable car; the taxi will be waiting to take you to your accommodation in Unzen Onsen.

Walking distance: 2.0 km / 1.2 mi
Elevation gain: 262 m / 860 ft of ascent and 208 m / 682 ft of descent
Time required: About 1.5 hours

We offer an engaging optional detour of about 30 minutes (0.6 km / 0.4 mi) with 26 m / 85 ft of ascent and descent.

Accommodation: Onsen ryokan (hot spring hotel) or onsen hotel (hot spring hotel)
Meals: Breakfast, dinner

Day 7: Explore Unzen Jigoku and Travel to Nagasaki

Your adventure in Unzen continues after breakfast, you will have the opportunity to explore the onsen district and stroll through Unzen Jigoku, a geothermally turbulent area with a tragic history.

Wooden boardwalks take you past dramatic steam vents and features named after Buddhist hells, bringing to mind another world.

Afterwards, you will travel by bus to the city of Nagasaki.

Accommodation: Western-style hotel
Meals: Breakfast

Day 8 (Exploration Day): Sightsee in Nagasaki then Travel Onward to Your Next Destination

An Exploration Day that takes you through the beats of Nagasaki’s winding past and present.

Your last day will be in Nagasaki, the port city known as a hotspot for foreign trade and as the window to the Western world during the period of isolation known as sakoku. In the 20th century, Nagasaki became known as the second city struck by an atomic bomb after World War II, subsequently taking its place at the forefront of the push for nuclear disarmament.

Your exploration of Nagasaki will give you the option to see several culturally significant places, including the former Dutch trading post of Dejima, the Atomic Bomb Museum and Peace Park, and the districts that were home to foreign settlers and merchants before and after the Edo period such as Nagasaki’s Chinatown (one of the oldest in Japan!) and the Dutch Slope.

Enjoy your fill of the city’s unique history, culture, and atmosphere, before travelling onwards to your post-trip destination.

Walking distance: Allow for roughly 5 km / 3 mi of walking to get the most out of your Exploration Day.

Meals: Breakfast

Unzen Jigoku hot spring hells in Mount Unzen, Kyushu Japan – steaming volcanic landscape and geothermal site explored on Kyushu’s Hidden History self-guided walking tour from Beppu to Nagasaki
Nagasaki Confucius Shrine (Kōshi-byō) in Kyushu Japan – historic Chinese-style temple with statues of Confucian scholars, cultural landmark on the Kyushu’s Hidden History self-guided walking tour from Beppu to Nagasaki
Usuki Stone Buddhas (Usuki Sekibutsu) in Oita Prefecture, Kyushu – ancient cliff-carved Buddhist statues, UNESCO cultural landmark and highlight of the Kyushu’s Hidden History self-guided walking tour from Beppu to Nagasaki























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