Kyushu travel guide: prefectures, attractions and transport
Explore Kyushu's seven prefectures, starting with Fukuoka, and find regional guides covering sights, food, transport passes, ferries, flights and itineraries.
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Kyushu is in southwestern Japan and comprises 7 prefectures: Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Oita, Miyazaki, and Kagoshima. This page is the entry point to the Kyushu travel guide. Fukuoka has the most extensive coverage, and articles on attractions, transport, and food are already available for the other prefectures. More will be added gradually, and new articles will appear in the prefecture lists below.
Start with Fukuoka
Fukuoka has an airport and a compact urban area, making it a practical starting point for a Kyushu itinerary.
- Fukuoka travel guide: Airport transfers, attractions, itineraries, transport, accommodation, and shopping
- Suggested Fukuoka itineraries: Itinerary index
Explore each prefecture
| Prefecture | Current coverage |
|---|---|
| Fukuoka | Fukuoka travel guide |
| Saga travel guide | Yoshinogari Historical Park guide, Ureshino Onsen guide, Arita pottery walk, Karatsu and Yobuko day trip, Saga food guide, Takeo Onsen day trip, Northern Kyushu driving route |
| Nagasaki travel guide | Transport from Fukuoka to Nagasaki, Gunkanjima landing guide, Mount Inasa night-view guide, Huis Ten Bosch guide, Goto Islands transport guide, Nagasaki food guide, Nagasaki tram guide |
| Kumamoto travel guide | Kumamoto Castle guide, Transport from Fukuoka to Kumamoto, Aso Volcano guide, Kurokawa Onsen guide, Kumamoto tram guide, Amakusa Islands guide, Kumamoto food guide, Suizenji Jojuen Garden guide |
| Oita travel guide | Transport from Fukuoka to Beppu and Yufuin, Beppu Hells guide, Yufuin town walking guide, Hita day trip, Kokonoe Yume Bridge guide, Beppu jigokumushi experience, Oita local food guide, Central Kyushu driving route, Yufuin no Mori |
| Miyazaki travel guide | Takachiho Gorge guide, Takachiho Kagura performance guide, Aoshima day trip, Obi Castle Town walk, Udo Jingu guide, Miyazaki transport guide, Southern Kyushu driving route |
| Kagoshima travel guide | Transport from Fukuoka to Kagoshima, Sakurajima guide, Ibusuki sand bath guide, Sengan-en guide, Yakushima access guide, Kagoshima city transport guide |
Getting around Kyushu
Travel between prefectures mainly relies on railways and express buses. Both have official passes. For an itinerary covering several prefectures, check the applicable routes and purchase methods on official websites before traveling:
- Passes: Comparison of Kyushu transport passes (JR Kyushu Rail Pass and SUNQ Pass)
- Ferries and flights: Kyushu ferry guide, Kyushu domestic flights
- Rail: Kyushu Shinkansen and limited express trains; the official JR Kyushu Chinese-language website and the national JR and rail passes guide
- Express buses: Official SUNQ Pass website; for a Fukuoka comparison, see Fukuoka passes and day tickets
Before traveling
Information that applies across Japan, such as transport IC cards and tax refunds, is collected in Japan travel essentials rather than repeated on the Kyushu pages.
Sources
- JR 九州（中文版官方網站） (www.jrkyushu.co.jp, checked 2026-10-28)
- SUNQ Pass（九州高速巴士周遊券官方網站） (www.sunqpass.jp, checked 2026-10-28)
More about Kyushu travel guide: prefectures, attractions and transport
- Kyushu domestic flights: island routes and Tokyo connectionsCompare officially listed flights to Goto, Iki, Tsushima and Amakusa, plus Solaseed Air services from Tokyo Haneda to Kyushu, with schedule and weather cautions.
- Kyushu ferries: Kumamoto, Shimabara, Sakurajima and Goto routesCompare Kyushu ferry operators, fares, vehicle charges, timetables and reservation rules for Kumamoto–Shimabara, Kagoshima–Sakurajima and routes to the Goto Islands.
- Kyushu transport passes: JR Kyushu Rail Pass versus SUNQ PassCompare JR Kyushu Rail Pass coverage, prices, consecutive-day rules and train exclusions with SUNQ Pass bus and ferry coverage and flexible digital-ticket use.
- Kyushu Shinkansen and limited express trains from HakataFind trains from Hakata to Kumamoto, Kagoshima, Nagasaki, Yufuin and Beppu, including the Takeo-Onsen transfer, reserved seats and regional rail pass coverage.