An 8-day, 6-night Japan tour of Kyushu covering Nagasaki, Shimabara, Kumamoto and Fukuoka, with Hashima cruise, castles, shrines and an onsen stay.
Trip highlights
- Learn the history of Kyushu, the first part of Japan to make contact with the outside world
- Visit castles and sacred sites with in-depth commentary
- Take a cruise to Hashima Island
- Relax with an onsen at a ryokan-style hotel
Led by historiansEvery trip travels with an expert history lecturer who brings each site to life in plain language.
Off the beaten pathCentral Asia, the Middle East, the Himalayas — places most tour companies never go.
Private groups, no rushingRight-sized groups and unhurried time at the places that matter most.
Beyond ordinary travelEvery tour is designed by writers and professional travellers to create experiences that reflect who you are — for travellers who want more than an ordinary holiday.
About this tour
This 8-day, 6-night tour by The Wild Chronicles explores Kyushu, one of Japan's four main islands and the place where Japan first met the outside world: the home of the Yayoi people, the Hidden Christians, Miyamoto Musashi, the Shimabara Rebellion and the Meiji-era industrial revolution, and the site of the Nagasaki atomic bombing.
The 2024 program visits Nagasaki (Peace Park, Atomic Bomb Museum, Glover Garden, Oura Church, Dejima and a Hashima cruise), Unzen Onsen and Shimabara, Kumamoto (Kumamoto Castle, Kumamon Square, Suizenji Garden), and Fukuoka (Yoshinogari, Dazaifu Tenmangu, Munakata Shrine, Ganryujima and the Kanmon Strait).
Two departures ran in 2024: 23-30 August, led by Pab Pongsorn Phumiwat with Chutima Methirawat (Aem), and 18-25 October, led by Chutima Methirawat, who has led more than 40 tours in Japan. Hotels are 3 to 4 star.
Day-by-day itinerary
Day 1Bangkok – Fukuoka (overnight departure)
Meet at 22:00 at the departures terminal of Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK).
Depart at 00:50 for Fukuoka Airport (FUK) on Thai Airways flight TG 648, a flight of about 5 hours 10 minutes.
Day 2Fukuoka – Nagasaki – Peace Park
Land at Fukuoka Airport in the morning, then travel to Nagasaki, once a fishing village where Portuguese traders arrived in the mid-16th century and spread Catholicism.
- Nagasaki Peace Park, a memorial to the atomic bombing, with its Fountain of Peace.
- Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, with four exhibition zones of photographs and video.
Day 3Nagasaki – Glover Garden – Oura Church – Hashima – Dejima
- Glover Garden, home of British merchant Thomas Blake Glover and a meeting place for intellectuals behind the 1868 Meiji Restoration.
- Oura Church, Japan's oldest Gothic-style Catholic church, dedicated to the 26 martyrs and part of the Hidden Christian Sites World Heritage listing.
- A boat trip to Hashima Island, a World Heritage site and symbol of Meiji-era coal industry. In rough seas the boat circles the island, or the Gunkanjima Digital Museum is visited instead.
- Dejima, a fan-shaped artificial island from the Edo period, built to control Portuguese missionary activity and later held by the Dutch.
Day 4Shimabara – Unzen Onsen – Kumamoto
- Shimabara, the "City of Water", and Unzen Onsen, a natural hot spring area that was once a place of execution for Christians and nicknamed "hell"; today a relaxing area for strolling.
- Harajō Castle Ruins, stronghold of the Shimabara Rebellion led by Amakusa Shirō Tokisada with about 37,000 Christians around 400 years ago.
- Shimabara Castle, one of Japan's 100 finest castles, with weapons, armour and exhibits on the rebellion and the Mount Unzen eruption.
- Cross by Kyusho Ferry to Kumamoto for the night.
Day 5Kumamoto – Castle – Kumamon Square – Suizenji Garden
- Kumamoto Castle, the highlight of Kyushu and one of Japan's three most famous castles, with the Honmaru Goten palace displaying Edo-period items.
- Kumamon Square, the "workplace" of the Kumamon mascot, with a cafe and souvenir shop.
- Suizenji Jojuen Garden, Kumamoto's most famous Japanese garden, with miniature versions of Mount Fuji and Lake Biwa and a circular path modelled on the Tokaido road.
Day 6Kumamoto – Fukuoka – Yoshinogari – Dazaifu
- Yoshinogari, a site on the life of the Yayoi people about 3,000 years ago, the "first Japanese", with some 20 reconstructed houses surrounded by moats, a watchtower, a commoners' area and a ritual zone.
- Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, built in the Heian period to honour Sugawara no Michizane, the god of learning, and famous for prayers about education.
Day 7Munakata Shrine – Ganryujima – Kanmon Strait
- Munakata Shrine, one of Japan's oldest and most sacred shrines and a World Heritage site, where people pray for safe sea travel and trade. About 80,000 artefacts found here are displayed in the Shinpokan hall.
- Ganryujima, the island where Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro fought their famous duel, with statues re-enacting it.
- Kanmon Strait, with views of blue water against green hills and ships passing through.
Day 8Fukuoka – Bangkok
Meet at 08:40 at the departures terminal of Fukuoka Airport.
Depart at 11:35 on Thai Airways TG 649 for Suvarnabhumi, a flight of about 6 hours, arriving at 14:55.
Included
- All accommodation (twin sharing)
- All meals as specified
- Entrance fees to all sites as specified
- Tour leader, local guide and driver throughout the trip
- Basic travel insurance
Not included
- Round-trip international economy-class flights
- Business class flight upgrade
- Single room supplement
- Other personal expenses beyond the listed items
- Tips for tour leader, local guide and driver: JPY 10,000 (about 2,400 baht) for the whole trip
- Other drinks during travel and ordered at restaurants
- Drinks ordered and drinks in hotel rooms
- Excess baggage fees over 20 kg
- 7% VAT, 3% withholding tax and all other taxes
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Kyushu: Many Stories of the Kyushu Gulf
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