Kyushu Cherry Blossom Tour 2028: 7-Day Small-Group Tour

There are no group activities on Day 1, so you can arrive whenever suits you. Fukuoka Airport is the nearest airport, and the subway runs straight from there to Tenjin station, about five minutes' walk from the hotel. We can also book a transfer from the airport at extra cost.

Check-in starts at 15:00. If your flight lands earlier, reception will keep your bags free of charge until your room is ready. Tenjin is Fukuoka's main shopping district, with department stores, restaurants and boat cruises on the river close by.

If you have a large suitcase, you can leave it at the hotel free of charge during the tour and collect it when you return on Day 6.

Your guide meets the group in the hotel lobby at 9:00. The first stop, about 1 hour 10 minutes away, is Akizuki, where about 200 cherry trees line Sugi-no-baba, the old road to the castle, for about 500 m. The castle, built in the 1620s, is gone, but its stone walls, moats and two gates remain.

Lunch is eel, grilled over charcoal with a sweet soy sauce, then steamed with rice in a wooden box.

At Ukiha Inari Shrine, the bus drives up the hill for you. With 91 red torii gates and a view over the Chikushi plain, it is a good place for photos. From the top, you can walk down through the gates to meet the bus, or stay on board.

Mameda-machi, Hita's old merchant town, is known as the 'Little Kyoto of Kyushu'. Here, a sake brewery offers a tasting beside its small museum, and its oldest storehouse dates from 1702. Hita's hina doll festival usually runs until 31 March, so many old houses display dolls made for the Girls' Festival. Then there are 30 to 40 minutes free for the geta sandal and cutting board shops.

Tonight's hotel stands beside the Mikuma River, and your room has its own onsen bath. After dinner, you can walk to nearby Kizan Park, where about 75 cherry trees line the river and may be lit up in the evening, depending on the year.

The bus leaves Hita at 9:00 for Takatsuka Atago Jizoson. People come here to pray to Jizo, a Buddhist protector of children, for their children's healthy growth. More than 2,000 small Jizo statues, given in thanks for answered prayers, stand in the grounds beside a ginkgo tree said to be 1,300 years old.

Half an hour later, the group stops at the roadside station on the Oyama River. The cherry trees along the river come in several shades of pink, some deeper than usual. Lunch is at a tofu restaurant that makes its tofu each day from local soybeans.

In the afternoon, the road climbs into the Aso caldera, a volcanic crater 25 km long. When the Nakadake crater is open, a walk of about 300 m up a slope leads to the edge, with a cobalt-blue lake steaming below. Nearby is Kusasenri, a grassy plain where horses often graze. The soft-serve ice cream sold here is well known in the area. In good weather, there is also a 30-minute walk at Aspecta, an outdoor theatre surrounded by about 6,700 cherry trees. Most are early-flowering Kawazu cherries, so how many are still in bloom varies from year to year.

Oyama Ryokan looks out on Ayugaeri Falls and has private and shared onsen. Dinner is kaiseki, a traditional meal of many small seasonal courses. Kumamoto is known for basashi (raw horse meat), and you can try it if you wish. Many guests do, and some like to grill their slice.

Departure is a little later this morning, so there is time for an onsen bath before you leave. Suizenji Jojuen in Kumamoto is just under an hour away. Hosokawa Tadatoshi, lord of Kumamoto from 1632, created this garden around a spring-fed pond, with a small hill shaped like Mount Fuji. There is about an hour to walk under its cherry trees.

After lunch on the way to Kumamoto Port, the group boards a ferry for the one-hour crossing to Shimabara. Guests often stand on deck in the sea breeze, and some feed the seagulls.

Hibariyama Flower Park lies below Heisei Shinzan, the newest peak of Mount Unzen. From late March, its cherry trees and about 10 million yellow rapeseed flowers usually start to bloom, and the pink and yellow together make it a popular place for photos. The park is on a hillside, so its paths slope.

Our guides say the highlight of the day is Shimabara's castle town. More than 50 springs feed the town, and colourful koi swim in its clear roadside channels. Inside the samurai houses, you can see the kitchen, guest room and garden. At Shimeiso, a house from the early 1900s, guests sit on the tatami beside a pond fed by about 3,000 tonnes of spring water a day.

Hotel Seaside Shimabara faces the Ariake Sea and has an open-air onsen. Early risers can watch the sunrise over the water. Dinner is kaiseki, made by a local chef with local fish and vegetables.

At 9:00, the bus climbs for about 30 minutes to Unzen Jigoku ('Unzen Hells'). Paths link about 30 named hot springs, with bubbling mud and steam at up to 120°C (248°F). Guests usually enjoy walking through the steam, even with the strong smell of sulphur. In the Edo period, Christians were tortured here to make them give up their faith, and a memorial remembers them. If you would rather avoid the hills and steps, there is a flat area by the souvenir shops.

After lunch at a local restaurant, the group reaches Omura Park, about an hour's drive from Unzen. It is the only place in Nagasaki Prefecture on Japan's list of Top 100 Cherry Blossom Spots. About 2,000 trees of more than 20 kinds grow among the stone walls of Kushima Castle, built in 1599. If they are in bloom, look for the Omura-zakura, whose flowers have 60 to 200 petals in two layers. With about 2 hours here, there is time to stroll at your own pace and perhaps try some local sweets.

Ureshino Yadoya opened in 2023, and every room has its own onsen, fed straight from the source. Ureshino's water is known in Japan for leaving skin smooth. The inn has a traditional Japanese style, with new facilities. Each room has a tea set, because Ureshino is a major green tea area, and dinner is kaiseki made with food from within about 88 km.

With a 10:00 start, the morning is relaxed. A tea class five minutes from the ryokan shows how to make good green tea from quality leaves. Guests brew the same leaves with water at 50°C (122°F) and at 80°C (176°F), then compare the taste. Most guests are surprised by how different the two taste. Good tea leaves are on sale there too.

Lunch is at a restaurant in Arita, about 35 minutes’ drive away. Around 2,000 Arita porcelain cups cover its walls, and when you order tea or coffee, you choose the cup it is served in. Most guests enjoy choosing their favourite. The meal features local Arita chicken, served on Arita ware.

Half an hour north, Okawachiyama sits in a valley closed in by mountains on three sides. From 1675, its potters made Nabeshima porcelain for the shogun and the imperial court, and a checkpoint at the entrance kept their methods secret. About 30 kilns still work here, among brick chimneys and bridges decorated with porcelain. Its lanes slope and have some steps. Take your time in the shops that interest you.

The drive back to Fukuoka takes 1.5 to 2 hours, and the evening is free for a last dinner in Tenjin.

The tour ends after breakfast at the Nishitetsu Grand Hotel. Some guests fly home from Fukuoka Airport, while others take the train from Hakata Station to see more of Japan. We can book a transfer at extra cost, or extra nights in Fukuoka on the same payment terms.