Kyushu Island

Visual Diary

After Naoshima, we journeyed by train to Fukuoka, rented a car, and comfortably explored the region's waterfalls, mountains, and volcanoes, otherwise inaccessible by train.

Just after our arrival, we chanced upon a stunning view on rice terraces during sunset. Magical.

Drive

Driving through Kyushu has been a relief after 1.5 weeks on trains. No luggage hassle, full flexibility, and the freedom to stop wherever we like.

We checked the map and chose a narrow road, thinking it'd be a scenic drive. Eventually, we squeezed past a harvester, only to find out a kilometer later it was a dead end - at least for our car.
White Shrines are quite rare, so we were happy to spot one on our way.

A bit cheesy, but why not, we thought. If we already queued to take a pic, let's do what everyone else did too.

Those early mornings when we headed out early, from time to time left us speachless, looking at these light, having a snack with a coffee from the vending machine.

The rice fields, were new to us. It's a lot of work to maintain them. Looking gorgeous every time we passed by.
This volcano looked quite peaceful

7-eleven shops and local Japanese

diners gave the road trip cinematic feeling.

Next, we headed to Beppu, one of the most geothermally active places on Earth, famous for its "Hells" (Jigoku), vibrant hot springs meant for viewing, not bathing.

Beppu

Beppu is a city unlike any other we seen before, where the ground feels alive. Steam blows out from beneath roads and through pipes, creating an atmosphere of suspense and wonder.

Steaming streets of Beppu

Beppu is a steaming cityscape where geothermal wonders meet urban life.

After Beppu, we headed south. Our next step was Kokonoe Yume Otsuribashi, which supposed to be highest pedestrian suspension bridge in Japan.

High above the ground, the views of waterfalls and surrounding greenery were breathtaking.

On our journey to the Mifuneyama Rakuen gardens the next day, we took a detour to the Arita Porcelain.

Some of these stores also had coffee places that were simple and neat. The coffee was really good and gave us a nice break on our journey.

When we got to the Mifuneyama Rakuen gardens, they were nice. But we thought they'd probably look even better in the cherry blossom season or during fall.

The next day, we set off on a drive that would turn out to be one of the best parts of our trip.

A local guy walked up to us told us some interesting stories about the big rock formation we could see nearby.