Kyushu Travel Guide: Fukuoka, Dazaifu, Yanagawa, Yufuin, Beppu and Aso in One Trip
Photos in this guide are AI-generated images of fictional POPORO CITY characters, made to illustrate the places; they are not real travel photos. Opening hours, prices and transport details change, so please check official sources before you go.
Kyushu is Japan's southern main island and, for travelers from Korea, one of the closest: flights to Fukuoka take around an hour, and there are ferries from Busan. It packs a big city, historic towns, famous hot springs and volcanic landscapes into a compact area, which makes it perfect for a three- or four-day trip.
Fukuoka: food city
Fukuoka's airport is unusually close to downtown, only a few subway stops away. Stay near Hakata Station or Tenjin. In the evening, walk to Nakasu, an island between two rivers where yatai food stalls open along the water, serving tonkotsu ramen, yakitori and oden. Canal City Hakata, a shopping complex with a fountain show, and the Ohori Park lake are easy additions.
Dazaifu and Yanagawa: easy half-day trips
Dazaifu Tenmangu is a shrine dedicated to the god of learning, reached by a train ride from Tenjin. The approach street sells warm umegae-mochi rice cakes, and the Kyushu National Museum sits just behind. Yanagawa, further south, is known as a water town: boatmen pole flat-bottomed boats through narrow canals lined with willows, and in winter the boats have heated kotatsu tables. Eel steamed over rice is the local specialty.
Yufuin: a lake and a small-town street
Yufuin sits in a valley below Mt. Yufu. The main street from the station to Kinrinko Lake is full of small shops, cafes and galleries. Visit the lake early on a cold morning: warm spring water flowing in meets the cold air and creates mist on the surface. Many ryokan here have private open-air baths.
Beppu: the hells
Beppu is one of Japan's biggest hot spring cities. Its "hells" (jigoku) are colorful hot pools too hot for bathing that you view on a walking circuit; Kamado Jigoku has several pools in different colors and small demonstrations with steam. Try food steamed in onsen vapor, and finish with a sand bath or a soak in one of the public baths.
Kokonoe and Aso: big landscapes
The Kokonoe Yume Otsurihashi is one of Japan's highest pedestrian suspension bridges, crossing a deep valley with waterfalls and forest; it is especially popular during autumn leaves. Further south, Mt. Aso has one of the largest calderas in the world. Kusasenri is a wide grassland on the volcano's slope with a pond and grazing horses. The crater area sometimes closes depending on volcanic gas levels, so check the day's status.
Getting around
- Fukuoka city: subway and buses; an IC card makes it simple.
- Fukuoka to Yufuin and Beppu: express trains and highway buses; reserve seats on popular trains.
- Aso and Kokonoe: rental car or tour is easiest; public transport is limited.
- Northern Kyushu rail passes exist; compare with your actual routes.
Best seasons
Spring (cherry blossoms, late March to early April) and autumn (leaves, early to late November) are the most beautiful. Winter is mild in Fukuoka but cold in the mountains, perfect onsen weather. The rainy season runs roughly June to mid-July.
Sample 4-day route
- Fukuoka: Canal City, Nakasu yatai.
- Dazaifu in the morning, Yanagawa boats in the afternoon.
- Yufuin lake and street, night in a ryokan.
- Beppu hells, return to Fukuoka (or Kokonoe and Aso with a car).
Nearby places worth adding
- Kumamoto Castle: one of Japan's great castles, restored after the 2016 earthquake, about an hour from Aso.
- Kurokawa Onsen: a small mountain hot spring village where a wooden pass lets you try several outdoor baths.
- Itoshima: a coastal area west of Fukuoka with beach cafes and the "wedded rocks" at sunset.
- Nagasaki: a historic port with a famous night view, reachable by limited express and shinkansen.
Where to stay
Hakata or Tenjin for the city nights, one ryokan night in Yufuin or Kurokawa, and Beppu if you want many public baths within walking distance.
POPORO picks
Cato, a chef from Taiwan, would not leave Fukuoka without a late bowl at a riverside yatai; Bela, a nurse who loves slow days, would book a ryokan with a private bath in Yufuin; and Ciel, a young singer, would ride the Yanagawa boats just for the songs the boatmen sing.
More travel planning: POPORO BLOG. Our characters also share Korean-language trip notes on the KPOPORO Naver blog.
