SAKURA KYUSHU TOUR
Mar. 20 ~ 31 (10nights, 12 days)


Breakfast 10, Lunch 9, Dinner 3 

A tour to enjoy the nature, culture, crafts, history and food of Kyushu.
From 2021 we have added in our tour of the newly World Heritage Site of Gunkanjima.
It will be a tour that you can enjoy Kyushu more than ever. 

Date	Place and Hotel ♨=onsen	Activity	B	L	D
Mar. 20 (Sat)		Depart Honolulu to Fukuoka.
21 (Sun)	FUKUOKA GRAN VIEW HOTEL	After arriving at Fukuoka airport go to hotel.
22 (Mon)	BEPPU HOTEL UMINE♨	From Fukuoka, ride the “Yufuin no Mori” limited express train with modern wooden interior and go to Beppu. For lunch is Hakata's famous eki-ben “Kashiwa-meshi” (chicken with rice). After arriving Beppu go to Jigoku meguri (Boiling Hell), see the Chinoike (Blood pond hell), Tatsumaki (tornado hell), and Umi jigoku (sea hell). Then go to hotel with onsen.	×	×	×
23 (Tue)	ASO RESORT GRANDVRIO HOTEL♨	From Beppu go to Takasakiyama to view japanese monkeys in natural environment. Then visit Yufuin's main street, Yu no Tsubo Kaido with various shops lined up. Next go to Kokonoe Yume Otsuribashi, Japan's no.1 largest pedestrian suspension bridge. Lunch is Oita's specialty“Toriten Teishoku" (chicken tempura-style set). After go to Daikanbo - located on the northern rim of the crater and is the highest peak of the Aso mountain chain. Then go to hotel.	×	×	×
24 (Wed)	KUMAMOTO MIELPARQUE	From Aso go to Takachiho Gorge, has a narrow chasm cut through the rock by Gokase River. The nearby sheer cliffs lining the gorge are where stones were twisted and flowed as it formed. You can row a boat, see beautiful tourist spots, and on the Amaterasu Railway, ride the Grand Super Cart and enjoy the scenery to Takachiho bridge. Lunch is Kumamoto’s specialty “Dako Jiru Teishoku" (Dango Jiru Teishoku). Next visit Suizenji park, a japanese garden and you can see cherry blossoms. Then go to hotel in Kumamoto.	×	×
25 (Thu)	KAGOSHIMA URBIC HOTEL	See Kumamoto castle but cannot go inside yet. From Kumamoto visit a Kurozu farm (black vinegar) where they are fermented and aging in an earthenware jar outside for years in Kagoshima area. You can also purchase already made kurozu & other products. Lunch is using Kurozu cuisine. Next go to Sakurajima, an active composite volcano and a former island in Kagoshima pref. The lava flows of the 1914 eruption connected it with Osumi peninsula. Look at Kurokami village, one of the village that was covered up in one day with lava & just a little of their sacred torii showing. Catch the ferry go to Kagoshima and to the hotel.	×	×
26 (Fri)	KAGOSHIMA URBIC HOTEL	From the hotel go to Chiran, within the town there is a preserved samurai district with houses and gardens that date back about 250 years. The street itself is attractive with the rock walls and hedges of residences. Then visit Chiran Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots (Tokkoutai – suicide attack squad). Lunch is Inaka Soba, enjoy Japan's authentic buckwheat noodle. Next visit Sengan-en, it is a japanese garden attached to a former Shimazu clan residence with Sakurajima and Kinko Bay as part of the scenery for it's garden. Then return to same hotel.	×	×
27 (Sat)	AMAKUSA PLAZA HOTEL	After check out of the hotel go to Ishin Furusatokan, a museum of the Meiji Restoration, using mechanical robots you can learn about Saigo Takamori, etc. From Kuranomoto Port with the ferry go to Amakusa-Shimojima. Visit Sakitsu, famous for the Christian village and tour of the Sakitsu Church. Then go to hotel.	×	×	×
28 (Sun)	NAGASAKI HOTEL QUORE	After check out of the hotel with the ferry go to Unzen. Then visit Castella Land, famous castella factory in Nagasaki. Lunch is Nagasaki's specialty “Nagasaki Champon". Next visit Glover Garden where former mansions of European merchants who had settled in Nagasaki, one famous one is Thomas B. Glover – a Scottish merchant. Next visit Nagasaki Peace Park, see the Peace statue. Then go to hotel in Nagasaki.	×	×
29 (Mon)	NAGASAKI HOTEL QUORE	From the hotel catch a ferry and go to Gunkanjima, a small island of 0.68 sq.ft. From around 1890 the island flourished with coal. There were 5200 people living there at that time. But now it is a uninhabited world heritage site island. Lunch is Nagasaki’s “Soul Food Turkish Rice". Then go to Dejima, those that want to can change to kimono in 5 minutes for souvenir photo. Next go to a local shopping arcade “Hamaichi" for shopping, then back to same hotel.	×	×
30 (Tue)	FUKUOKA NISHITETSU GRAND	From Nagasaki go to Yanagawa, for lunch is Yanagawa steamed eel it's their old traditional local dish. Take a castle town small boat ride on the canal around the moat and enjoy the surrounding scenery. Next visit a Kurume Kasuri Textile factory where they weave indigo textile products. Then go to hotel in Fukuoka. For dinner those that want to can try Hakata's famous “Hakata Ramen.	×	×
31 (Wed)		Sightseeing within Fukuoka. Visit Maizuru Park (former site if Fukuoka Castle Ruins), you can see cherry blossoms. Next visit Kushida Shrine, most important Shinto shrine in the area, and is famous for it's yearly Hakata Gion Yamakasa Festival. Then visit the Hakata Machiya Folk Museum, learn about old daily life & Hakata culture during the Meiji and Taisho period. Next take a tour of the Asahi Beer Factory.Then go to airport for your departure flight to Honolulu.	×