Looking back on our trip to Kyushu

Before leaving Japan, Joe and I decided that we wanted to spend some time vacationing. We decided to visit the southernmost island of the four main islands of Japan. We rented hotel rooms in each prefecture of the island and rented a car to take us there. We left Tsuchiyama with four large suitcases, two computer bags, a backpack and a duffel bag; there was no way we were going to lug all of that stuff on the train.

Fukuoka- We took the Shinkansen from Kyoto to Fukuoka. The first night we checked in to our hotel room and took the train to the airport to pick up our car. The next morning we left Fukuoka on our way to Nagasaki. The days before it was raining really hard in Kyushu so there were a couple landslides. We had to alter our route a couple of times because several roads were closed.




Yoshinogari- On our way to Nagasaki, we stopped by Yoshinogari. It is a museum/theme park/historical site.





Nagasaki- We went to the Atomic Bomb Museum, the Peace Park and we saw the spectacles bridge (the oldest stone bridge built by the Chinese in Japan)







Kumamoto- We went to Mt. Aso and drove around looking at the cows grazing and the active calderas.





Kagoshima- We went to Sakurajima (cherry blossom island) and the Kagoshima aquarium. Sakurajima is a volcano/island in Kagoshima.








Miyazaki-We visited two shrines one on a small island and the other one in a cave.





Beppu- Beppu is famous for hot springs known as the 8 hells. We went to all 8 :)