Best of Kyushu Japan self-drive

Today you begin your journey by boarding your international outbound flight to Tokyo.

Pick up your hire car today and drive to the onsen village of Kurokawa and spend the rest of the day at leisure relaxing in the sumptuous hot springs.

There are some nice walks to be done or make use of your hire car to explore more of the area. You can also take advantage of a day pass to visit other hot springs in the village.

Travel south to sheer limestone cliffs of Takachiho Gorge. Once freshened up, perhaps hire a rowing boat and drift gently along the river through waterfalls and cliff faces.

Drive south to Ibusuki and spend the evening unwinding in a traditional sand bath after a long day of driving through some delightful scenery.

Using your hire car, drive to Chiran, a very small town that has been relatively untouched by time and home to beautiful samurai residences and gardens. There is also a small museum dedicated to the kamikaze fighters of WWII.

Continue your drive to Kirishima National Park, bypassing the smoking top of Sakurajima volcano that overlooks Kagoshima city.

At leisure in the Kirishima National Park to enjoy some of the many walking trails, and soak up the beautifully verdant green of this part of Kyushu.

Return to Kagoshima, drop off your hire car and board the train to Kumamoto and spend the rest of the day at leisure. Our recommendation for the afternoon is to visit Kumamoto castle and its nearby Suizenji gardens.

Use your car to head east to Mount Aso and over the lip of the caldera. The scenery is quite different to anywhere else and on a good day you reach the top.

A short drive to the port to board the car ferry over to Unzen Peninsula from where you climb the mountain via the sulphuric bubbling pools at the top of Mount Unzen. After, head back down the mountain over to Nagasaki Bay and the city itself.

At leisure in Nagasaki. It's worth visiting the small yet quite harrowing peace museum but more of what Nagasaki has to offer is in town such as Glover Garden on which 'Madame Butterfly' was based and Dejima Wharf at sunset.

At leisure to explore 'Gunkanjima' or 'Battleship Island' infamous for its eerily vacant and uninhabited atmosphere often used in movies.

Continue by train to Hakata, a lovely journey along the coast and through paddy fields.Once in Fukuoka, enjoy the remainder of your evening in this compact but buzzy modern city.

Take the easy subway line to the airport and board your flight back to Tokyo for a final night in the capital.

Take the airport shuttle bus to the airport and board your return flight. Your return flight will arrive the same day.