These are the best places to travel this summer

Kyūshū

Shop

Get even more with a Lonely Planet guide.

Shop Book
MinamiAso landscape - Kumamoto, Japan; Shutterstock ID 448624666; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Kyushu destination page online

Shutterstock / naru7

LONELY PLANET’S RECOMMENDED eSIM

Stay connected in Kyūshū

with

Saily is an affordable eSIM service that helps you stay connected and secure, anywhere in the world.

Get your eSIM

Overview

Kyūshū (九州), Japan's southern- and westernmost main island, is arguably its warmest and most beautiful, with active volcanic peaks, rocky, lush and near-tropical coastlines, and great onsen (hot springs) virtually everywhere. History and legend were made here: Jōmon ruins, Shintō's sun goddess, wealthy trading ports, cloistered foreigners, samurai rebels and one of the earth's greatest wartime tragedies all loom large.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Peace Statue, Nagasaki,Japan

    Peace Park

    Nagasaki

    A still, serene and deeply moving place, Nagasaki's Peace Park commemorates the atomic bombing of the city on August 9, 1945, which reduced the…

  • Japan, Kumamoto Prefecture, Kumamoto Castle, low angle view

    Kumamoto-jō

    Kumamoto

    Dominating the skyline, Kumamoto's robust castle is one of Japan's best, built in 1601–07 by daimyō Katō Kiyomasa, whose likeness is inescapable around…

  • Gunkanjima

    Gunkanjima

    Nagasaki

    From afar, the Unesco World Heritage island of Hashima resembles a battleship, hence its nickname Gunkanjima ('battleship island'). Up close, this long…

  • NAGASAKI, NAGASAKI-KEN, JAPAN - 2010/07/20: The former Nagasaki International club built in 1903. Dejima, literally "protruding island", was a small island in the bay of Nagasaki that was a Dutch trading post during Japan's self-imposed isolation of the Edo period from 1641 until 1853. Here Dutch traders were stationed, keeping a small window on the outside world plus trade with the rest of the world..Since the closing of the Dutch East India Company's trading post in 1857, the island has been surrounded by reclaimed land and merged into Nagasaki. The island was designated a national historical site in 1922. Today, Dejima is a work in progress with the long-term plan to fully restore its characteristic fan-shaped form and all the embankment walls.. (Photo by John S Lander/LightRocket via Getty Images)

    Dejima

    Nagasaki

    In 1641 the Tokugawa shogunate banished all foreigners from Japan, with one exception: Dejima, a fan-shaped, artificial island in Nagasaki harbour. From…

  • Shimabara Castle, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, Low Angle View

    Shimabara-jō

    Kyūshū

    This hilltop castle was ruled mostly by the Matsudaira clan from the 1660s and played a part in the Shimabara Rebellion. It was rebuilt in 1964. As well…

  • Amano-iwato Jinja

    Ama-no-Iwato-jinja

    Kyūshū

    One of Shintō's loveliest shrines honours the cave where the goddess Amaterasu hid. The cave itself is off-limits, but Nishi Hongū (the shrine's main…

  • Dazaifu Temmangu, Dazaifu, Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

    Dazaifu Tenman-gū

    Kyūshū

    Among the countless visitors to the grand, sprawling Tenman-gū – shrine and burial place of poet-scholar Tenman Tenjin – are students making offerings and…

  • prayer hall of Suwa shrine in Nagasaki, Japan; Shutterstock ID 611889566

    Suwa-jinja

    Nagasaki

    Situated on a forested hilltop and reached via multiple staircases with nearly 200 steps, this enormous shrine was established in 1625. Around the grounds…

View more attractions

Plan with a local

Experience the real Japan

Let a local expert craft your dream trip.
Get started

Get a book. Get inspired. Get exploring.

Explore all books

in partnership with getyourguide

Book popular activities in Kyūshū

Go Beyond

Kyūshū and beyond

Beyond Kyūshū