Speaking of Yakushima, on NHK World this afternoon there was a five minute program called Beginning Japanology. Today the subject was onsen and they showed one in Yakushima - evidently it is fed by the ocean and is only accessible when the tide is low...sounds pretty interesting....another one they showed was up in the mountains of Hokkaido, I think, and is only accessible in the winter by snowshoe....an awful lot to explore in Japan....

Day 12 Kagoshima
The next day we awoke to stormy pounding rain, glad we had a chance to hike when we did. From blogs by local Yakushima residents I gather we were close to the start of the rainy season, and like our island Kauai, Yakushima has the reputation for being a rainy destination. After a 20 minute bus ride to Anbo we waited a short time and boarded the jetfoil . On the return trip we didn't make any stops so got back to Kagoshima around 1:00 PM. I had had ambitious plans to take a quick train down to Ibusuki on the sightseeing limited express train "Ibusuki no Tamatebako" train to max out our Kyushu rail pass usage. We also had talked about visiting the Naeshirogawa pottery village outside of Kagoshima mention in "Gateway to Japan", but instead we opted for a leisurely stroll along the river and the Tenmokan shopping district. We saw a reconstructed Samurai house and more public art. We had an excellent Italian dinner on the top food floor of the station building with a window seat looking onto the front station area.

Day 13 Fukuoka
The last days of a trip are always a little tough on knowing what to do when you are counting the final hours.
We checked out early and took a taxi to the station for a 10:00 Shinkansen to Fukuoka. This was the first time we had travelled with our suitcases which had gotten heavier with the items we had picked up along the way. Fortunately we were the first into our car which wasn't crowded and stacked them in the space behind the last row of seats. A couple of hours later we were in Fukuoka back at the original Dormy Inn Canal City. They stored our bags until check in time and we headed off downtown to the Tenjin area for some shopping . Three major department stores are in close proximity some connected above and below ground and after a few hours the food floors started looking like deja vu all over again. Just wished we'd picked up more goodies now. I'm looking at my two jars of "Yuzu kosho" a citrus chile paste that is a Kyushu staple.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuzukosh%C5%8D

After check in time had passed we headed back to the hotel to freshen up then head to the Hakata Gion subway station (5 min walk) to catch a train out to the Yahoo Dome near the bay side and catch a Fukuoka Hawks game. We wondered if we were going in the right direction for the first few stops as no one was wearing any baseball hats or looked like fans. By the time we got off the train we were in a stream of people walking the 15 minutes to the dome. It was a fun and neat experience. Getting tickets wasn't hard as a guard took us under his wing and help with the transaction but it would have been easy without. Lots of fans and a well attended game . We stayed about halfway through the game when the score was 10-0 , and decided to head back to the hotel. Another walk through Nakasu which is quite an eye opener at night, stopped for some nice green tea ice cream at a shop called Ufu.
Then back to hotel and bed.

Day 14 Back to Kauai
Didn't leave to around 9:00 that night so checked out and stored our bags and did some more walking through areas of the city we hadn't seen before. Some fun small mom and pop stores and specialty shops.
Taxi to the airport was easy and so was check in. The flight back was smooth and not that crowded. Only three people in business class and though our seats were comfortable, I had the feeling I had missed out on some opportunity to upgrade.
Oh well we got home fine.
Will put this report to bed now we had a great time and hope to get back to Japan again soon . World Heritage site of Shiretoko is on the list, that way we will have covered north and south.
Thanks to those other forum members HT, rkwan and others for their recent Kyushu reports.
Will have one more post about useful Kyushu links. We rented a phone and a MiFi from Rentaphone Japan that was very useful.
I took an Apple Airport Express to use in hotel rooms with wired ethernet to make a wireless access area. I had wanted to try a gps and had a Japan Map sd card but just couldn't access satellites with my older garmin unit so stopped trying.
I have a set of photos you can see at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bananaj...7633529411154/

Great report, thanks for sharing. Nice photos as well - some of Kumamoto, Fukuoka and Yufuin were very familiar to me....the food looked very delicious... :)

Aah what a treat. I'm back from a holiday to Scotland and about to throw myself into Kyushu planning, so most timely too.

Glad you found a good dentist, and were able to enjoy the rest of your trip. I had a CT Scan on our trip last year, in a Kyoto hospital, was all clear though. An odd experience but felt very well looked after.

kalihiwai2, I'm curious about Yakushima, esp to hear such rave reviews from someone who lives in Kauai! Is it very beautiful? To us, Kauai is like paradise, and when I read about it in guidebooks I was wondering how it compares to Kauai and whether it's worth the hassle to get there. I'm planning to go to Kyushu in late March.

Thanks

I waa also comparing the two islands after visiting Yakushima a year ago. The main difference to me is that Yakushima is quieter - smaller population, fewer hotels, fewer cars, fewer tourists.

JC98,
Yakushima had always been a kind of obsession with me because of the similarities with Kauai, as well as the differences.( non volcanic, sub tropical native vegetation vs invasive, ancient trees)
On our third trip to Kyushu we finally got there and you can read the trip report and look at the photos on Flickr.
For us getting there was part of the fun, riding a hydrofoil and staying in Kagoshima a city we had enjoyed before.
Yakushima is a less populated island and smaller island than Kauai although it seems just as large if not larger because of the geography.
When we go again we would probably opt for a smaller hotel, rent a car, and hire a guide for a planned trek. http://yakushimalife.appspot.com
There is not a lot of nightlife so unless you have an exclusive interest in hiking and nature (which admittedly you can find all over Japan ) you might not want to go that extra mile to get there as there are not a lot of the cultural attractions (shrines,temples,castles) as in other areas of Japan.
I think this is part of the appeal though.
The food is excellent with local specialties.
Looking at your itinerary you might best use your four days in North Kyushu visiting
Nagasaki/Unzen , Yufuin/Beppu, Aso/Kurokawa , all places you could spend a pleasant few days in.
I’m interested in the Kunisaki Peninsula for a next trip.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4720.html
Hope you have a good time.

kalihiwai, I must get my trip report from November posted since I spent time in both Yakushima and the Kunisaki Peninsula. It's coming, I promise!

Meantime, regarding the Kauai/Yakushima comparison, I'd say they are quite different. Kauai's has many lovely beaches and good snorkeling, whereas Yakushima has only a couple of beaches and they aren't all that nice. (However, it does have a cool natural onsen by the sea that anyone can bathe for a donation of 100 yen in when the tide is right.) Kauai has hiking in the great Waimea Canyon and at Kokee, but there are many other things to do there; on Yakushima, it's ALL about the hiking, which is awesome. It takes a lot of effort to get into the most rewarding parts of Yakushima--by foot, of course--but that's the main reason to visit there, in my opinion. The moss forest on the Shiratani-Unsuikyo trail is incomparable. Both islands have excellent food; the small inn we stayed in on Yakushima served us amazing seafood night after night--so inventive, and the best I've had in Japan. Both islands require a car to get around most easily; you can circumvent Yakushima by car, but to get around the northern tip of Kauai you would have to kayak (which is a pretty awesome trip in itself). On Yakushima you can see island deer and monkeys up close and in great numbers; Kauai's wildlife is more of the bird variety, as I recall. Anyway, I love both places!

I missed this TR and will have to read it.

Thanks for the report. It really is a shame to hear about the dental problem during your trip - but glad that you got over it.
Unfortunately Hawaiian Airlines cancelled their HNL-FUK route in June, 2014. I think Delta still flies it non-stop though.
I've been through Kyushu many times - you managed to see and do quite a lot....but you also missed SOOO many good places.
You missed the Nanzoin temple - a truly secret jewel few know:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT4VQFmHFyM
There's also the Tochoji Great Buddha - 2 in the same area!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...7ayvBAbOn8-028
And why did you choose Yufuin? Beppu is far more interesting with its hot springs, Hell Tour, Monkey Park...
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...2lUNTr46ApKXxZ
I am glad you made it to Suizenji in Kumamoto - it is one of Japan's finest. Just to add some color to your description:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9xyXmU8U1g
*Anyone* going to Japan should go see this garden!
And you missed so much in Kagoshima, although Yakushima is really something special. Make plans for your next trip, and see what you missed - like Sakurajima!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...JMdkB9mF0qjnqK
Also Nagasaki is a MUST-SEE and the most interesting city on Kyushu.

Adastra2200, Thanks for the comments and suggestions which I have bookmarked.
Indeed Kyushu is great for Japan travel, fewer tourists, less crowds and a wide range of sites.
We chose Yufuin as a less crowded onsen stop away from cities as we had been in Fukuoka the previous days. We wanted to do some trekking on Mt Yufu as well.
Beppu is on the return list as is the Kunosaki Peninsula area.
I have to agree about Sakurajima, a great spot, we stayed at the Furosato Kanko hotel about 12 years ago and hope somehow they can reopen. Anyone know if the Shrine onsen can still be accessed?
Nagasaki is a must see, a very international city, we have visited there, while at the A bomb museum there was an earthquake that made the mock up bomb hovering over the world globe sway, caused a bit of a stir and some damage in Fukuoka. We still want to get to Unzen and the Shimabara peninsula.
So many options, so little time!
This trip report is already over a year old and reading through it brings back some good memories, so get those trip reports done fodorites!

ttt