Kyushu in Bloom: Cherry Blossom Tour

Welcome to Fukuoka! After arriving, check into your hotel in the vibrant Fukuoka City. The rest of the day is yours to explore at your own pace. Wander the neighbourhood, browse local shops, and sample some of Fukuoka's renowned street food and ramen. It's a gentle, unhurried start to the week.

Meet your tour leader and fellow travellers in the hotel lobby, and head out for your first full day. The morning begins at the atmospheric ruins of a 17th-century castle, one of Fukuoka's most celebrated cherry blossom spots, where petals drift over crumbling stone walls in a setting that feels entirely removed from modern life. Lunch is at a specialist eel restaurant, if you haven't tried it before, you're in for a pleasant surprise: the meat is tender, the glaze rich, and it's been a staple of Japanese cuisine for centuries. The afternoon brings more blossom at a striking shrine, its vermillion torii gates framing the sakura beautifully. We'll also stop at a local sake brewery before finishing the day in Mameda Town, Hita's beautifully preserved Edo-period merchant district, where narrow lanes, timber shopfronts and a display of traditional hina dolls make it one of the most charming townscapes in Kyushu. Evening cherry blossom viewing may be possible depending on conditions.

After breakfast, the route heads into the dramatic highland interior of Kyushu. The first stop is a hilltop temple that has blended Shinto and Buddhist traditions since its founding 1,200 years ago, its hundreds of stone statues make it one of the most striking and photogenic sites of the tour. A roadside station in the Oyama farming district offers a glimpse of rural Kyushu before a tofu lunch prepared using local ingredients. The afternoon is dominated by Aso, one of the world's largest active volcanic calderas. From a highland lookout you'll take in the full sweep of the caldera, then move to a second vantage point for closer views across the volcanic landscape; entry to the crater rim is subject to conditions on the day. Tonight's accommodation is a traditional ryokan with indoor and outdoor hot-spring baths set against a natural backdrop, and dinner is a kaiseki meal prepared with seasonal local produce.

The morning begins at a classical Japanese garden in Kumamoto, laid out over 350 years ago, its meticulously maintained grounds referencing the 53 stages of the old Tokaido road in miniature, a quiet, elegant start to the day. From Kumamoto, we cross the Ariake Sea by ferry to the Shimabara Peninsula, the journey itself offering fine views across the bay. On arrival, we visit a hillside flower park where cherry blossom and bright yellow rapeseed bloom against a mountain backdrop, one of the tour's most striking combinations of colour. The afternoon is spent in Shimabara's well-preserved castle town, stroll the old samurai streets and the picturesque canal district, where carp glide through clear spring water beneath the blossoms.

The morning takes us to Unzen, a mountain resort town famous for its bubbling, sulphurous hot-spring vents, a vivid, otherworldly geothermal landscape with a sobering history. Lunch is a picnic at a park in Omura, one of Japan's top 100 cherry blossom spots, where over 2,000 trees of 20 different varieties bloom across the grounds of a 17th-century castle; it's the kind of setting that stops people mid-sentence. The afternoon includes a visit to a seaside tea plantation on the coast, where the terraced fields meet the sea in a way that's distinctly Nagasaki. Tonight's accommodation is a ryokan in Ureshino, a spa town whose hot-spring waters have been enjoyed for over 1,300 years, the water is famously silky, an effect of its alkaline mineral content, and the evening kaiseki dinner is the culinary highlight of the tour.

The morning begins in Ureshino with a hands-on tea-making class, learning to brew green tea properly, your own pot, your own leaves, guided by someone who knows exactly what they're doing. Lunch is at a pottery gallery in Arita, where contemporary local tableware sets the scene for a meal that's as much about craft as it is about food. The afternoon takes you into Okawachiyama, the Village of the Secret Kilns; for centuries this mountain enclave was sealed off to protect the closely guarded techniques of Imari porcelain production, and today you can wander freely through the workshops and studios, taking your time to choose a piece to bring home. By evening you're back in Fukuoka, with the rest of the night free to explore, if the timing is right, a cherry blossom festival in the grounds of Fukuoka Castle, lined with street-food stalls, is an easy stroll from the hotel.

As your journey comes to an end, you'll check out of the hotel after breakfast and continue on your own path. The tour may be over, but the memories you've created during your springtime Japanese adventure will surely be yours to cherish. Thank you for entrusting Kyushu Journeys with your journey through Kyushu. Safe travels, and until we meet again!