Kyushu in Style

DAY 1 Flight to Japan

This afternoon you will fly to Tokyo from London. The flight to Japan takes nearly 12 hours so you'll need to download the latest box sets to your iPad.

DAY 2 Go West

After breakfast at your hotel it's time to experience one of the many reasons we love Japan so - the bullet train. The flight from Tokyo Airport to Fukuoka - the northern gateway to Kyushu - is one hour and 50 minutes, but if you add in transfers from central Tokyo to the airport, and from Fukuoka Airport to the city centre, it ends up being a roughly six hour trip. Alternatively, zip on the metro to Tokyo central station, board your Shinkansen (superfast) bullet train and five hours and fifteen minutes later you'll be in Fukuoka - having also caught a glimpse of Mount Fuji (out of the right-hand window) 45 minutes into the journey. In fact, the coastline views on this route are consistently gorgeous, so you'll easily while away the journey gazing out of the window.

When you arrive there is time to settle into your hotel and have dinner before an early night ready for a full next few days.

DAY 3 Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot

One of Kyushu's defining features is its onsen hot spring resorts, the most famous of which is Beppu on the east coast. Beppu is the Japanese equivalent of a British seaside town, where the locals bury themselves up to the neck in hot sands; it can be a bit full on, so we like to recommend staying just inland in the Yufuin region instead. You will be met this morning for the two hour drive to Yufuin in time for lunch in this charming town surrounded by mountains. The town centre is full of quaint buildings and onsen hot spring bathhouses and if you want to tackle this most Japanese of traditions, we will provide you with a full run down on onsen etiquette so you don't cause a diplomatic incident. Alternatively, there are a number of well-marked circular walking trails to take around the town.

After a day exploring the town, head back to your hotel, which is in a charming ryokan (traditional inn) style, where they will serve you a delicious and traditional kaiseki multi-course dinner.

DAY 4 Aso and Kumamoto

Today you will continue by car to Kumamoto, passing by one of the most significant volcanic regions of Japan - which is really saying something. Mount Aso - the largest volcano in Japan - has erupted several times so we will keep you abreast of the latest warnings and threat levels, but if she is behaving herself a visit to the vast crater, with clouds of sulphurous gas belching out, is an experience of raw geological power that's well worth it. For the less adventurous, the nearby and perfectly conical Komezuka crater is a gentler example of the region's volcanic forces at work.

After exploring the Aso region, head on to Kumamoto for an appreciation of Japan's man-made, as opposed to natural, beauty. You'll find this in the form of Kumamoto Castle, arguably the finest example of traditional castle architecture in the country. After appreciating the castle, there will be time this evening to enjoy the city's restaurants and bars too.

Tragically a 2016 earthquake saw some of the ancient walls destroyed, meaning you can't enter the castle, but restoration is underway and it's interesting to see the progress. In the meantime, the extensive gardens are still open.

DAY 5 Kumamoto to Kirishima

Up nice and early you'll leave Kumamoto city centre and be driven for two and half hours to the Kirishima National Park, the beautiful home of a string of crater lakes that will look strangely familiar to fans of You Only Live Twice, which was filmed here. This was Japan's first designated National Park and is a superb place to go walking - although weather conditions can be changeable so we strongly recommend bringing the correct equipment. This afternoon you will have the opportunity to walk one of the many trails in the area, before a well-earned rest at your new nearby hotel.

We like the change of pace from urban to rural which can be readily enjoyed in Kyushu, and this definitely applies again today.

DAY 6 Yakushima

Today you will make your way to an island off the island of Kyushu, namely Yakushima, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, national park and an extraordinary lost world. You will be transferred from your hotel to the ferry terminal for the two-hour hydrofoil, arriving in time for lunch at your new hotel on the island. Come afternoon you will have the chance to hike on one of several trails that wind through the island's extraordinary landscapes and which include everything from Granite Mountains to ancient forests of cedar trees. As before, we can recommend which trails to take on, but you will need the right equipment (this can be rented in situ) because like Kirishima, Yakushima can also experience sudden downpours.

DAY 7 Tokyo Calling

This morning you will be transferred to the ferry port for the return voyage to Kagoshima docks, where you will be met for the 45-minute drive to Kagoshima Airport. Your flight to Tokyo Haneda Airport will take one-hour-and-45-minutes and you can then take the metro into town for your last night in Japan.