Kyushu
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Geography
The island is mountainous, and Japan's most active volcano, Mt Aso at 1,591 m, is on Kyūshū. There are many other signs of tectonic activity, including numerous areas of hot springs. The most famous of these are in Beppu, on the east shore, and around Mt. Aso, in central Kyūshū.
Climate
The climate is slightly warmer and more tropical than Honshu, and the southern and eastern coasts are regularly hit by typhoons each year.
In the summer it is very hot and rains a lot, the typhoon hits the area many times through the year. In winter, the weather is quite warm and has not much rain or snow.
Economy
Prefectures
Major cities and towns
Fukuoka - the gateway to Kyushu
Kitakyushu - not just an industrial city
Nagasaki - of the A-bomb tragedy
Sasebo - U.S. Navy base is here
Kumamoto - featuring one of the best Japanese castles, the Kumamoto castle
Kagoshima - southern city in the shadow of the Sakurajima volcano
Beppu - hot springs are more abundant here than anywhere else
Other destinations
Mount Aso - an active volcano
Tanegashima - home of Japan's space program
Yakushima - subtropical island famous for its giant cedars
Things to do
Visit...
The Former Glover Residence
The Former Ringer Residence
Sakurajima
Specialties
Kyushu is the home of shōchū, the fiery Japanese extracted liquor. The alcohol is typically around 25%, but some varieties can be much stronger. It can be extracted from nearly anything including rice, barley, brown sugar and buckwheat, but Kyushu is best known for potato shōchū (芋焼酎 imojōchū), particularly from the ancient province of Satsuma (modern-day Kagoshima).
Chanpon (Mixed Chinese Noodles)
The Castella Cake
Places to stay
Richmond Hotel Fukuokatenjin
Comfort Hotel
Hotel Dormy Inn Kumamoto
Hotel Passione Miyazaki
Ureshino Spar Resort Hotel Sakura
Beppu Hotel Umine
Getting in
123bus is a company which provides daily night time bus services between Tokyo and Kyushu, Osaka and Kyushu. With an online booking service in English.
Getting around
The Kyushu Rail Pass offers unlimited travel on JR Kyushu's lines, including the Kyushu Shinkansen but not the San'yo Shinkansen to Hakata. The pass costs is for five days; you'll have to travel quite a lot to make this pay off and most visitors, especially those not flying in directly to Kyushu, will find the ordinary Japan Rail Pass a better deal.
See also
Links
Some content adapted from Wikipedia.org.
