Kyushu, Japan

Kyushu is the third largest island of Japan, made up of seven prefectures. Its largest city is Fukuoka, the gateway to Kyushu. Its other prefectures include Saga, Nagasaki, Oita, Kumamoto, Miyazaki and Kagoshima.

Kyushu offers many historic treasures, modern cities and natural beauty. Kyushu mixes ancient history and quaint rural towns, with ultra modern wonders like the world's largest indoor water Park, Ocean Dome, and the meticulously recreated Dutch village of Huis Ten Bosch.

Things to See & Do

* Fukuoka tower
* Sky Dream Fukuoka Ferris wheel
* Hot Springs at Beppu
* Pottery and pre-historic village ruins at Saga
* Kirishima - national park chock full of volcanic craters and hot springs

General information

Cruise Season - Jan - Dec
Currency - Yen (JPY)
Language - Japanese
Population - 13,300,000 approx
Land Area - 35,640 km2
Electricity - 2 perpendicular flat pins USA style or with a round pin below
Time - GMT plus hours nine hours
International Country Telephone Code - 81

Port Location - The port at of Fukuoka is located in Hakata Bay, at the northern end of Kyushu island.

Travel Links - Fukuoka is Japan's busiest international hub after the trio of Tokyo, Chubu and Kansai and has excellent connections throughout Asia and Japan. All the other prefectural capitals also offer limited service within Japan and to a few major Asian cities (typically Seoul and Shanghai).

The Sanyo Shinkansen line from Hiroshima, Osaka and beyond serves Kokura Station in Kitakyushu and terminates at Hakata Station in Fukuoka. A trip by train all the way from Tokyo takes 5:40 hours. The Kyushu Shinkansen from Fukuoka (Hakata) to Kagoshima is half-open: The section from Yatsushiro to Kagoshima is operational, with "relay" trains running over conventional tracks between Fukuoka and Yatsushiro. The entire shinkansen line will begin operations on March 12, 2011, with through service operated on the San'yo Shinkansen as far as Osaka.

123bus is a company which provides daily night time bus services between Tokyo and Kyushu, Osaka and Kyushu. With an online booking service in English.

Fukuoka is also the gateway to South Korea via Busan by ferry, and a few ferry companies (including JR) operate the route.