Kyushu Motorcycle Tour

Collect your motorcycle from the rental shop at Fukuoka Airport and head south, riding light while the support vehicle takes your bags on to tonight's hotel. Your first stop is Yūtoku Inari Shrine, where the bright red main hall stands on tall wooden stilts against the hillside. Further south, you'll pass bus stops shaped like giant fruit before riding the Unzen Tara Sea Line, a road along the top of a sea wall with Mount Unzen straight ahead. After crossing the Unzen mountains, ride down past terraced fields to the coast at Minamishimabara.

The day starts with a short ferry ride across to the Amakusa islands. Ride to Tomioka Castle, which held out against the rebels of the Shimabara Rebellion in 1637, for views back across the sea to Mount Unzen. The road then follows Amakusa's quiet west coast down to the fishing port of Ushibuka, crossed by the long, curving Haiya Bridge. A second ferry takes you over to Nagashima, where the lighthouse park on Cape Nagasakihana looks out to sea, and the coastal walkway at Agarihama is a good place to stretch your legs. Then follow the coast into Kagoshima city, with the smoking volcano of Sakurajima across the bay.

In the morning, walk through Sengan-en, the seaside garden of the Shimazu lords, with Sakurajima as its backdrop. Then take the ferry across to Sakurajima itself and ride through its old lava fields to Kurokami, where a shrine gate was half buried by the 1914 eruption. Climbing into the Kirishima mountains, you'll pass Takachiho-gawara, at the foot of the peak where legend says the grandson of the sun goddess came down to earth. Heading north, you'll ride the Hitoyoshi Loop Bridge, where the road turns a full circle high above the valley. Your day ends in Yamato, home of Tsūjun Bridge, a stone aqueduct from 1854 that still carries water to the rice terraces. On set days, mostly at weekends, water is released from the middle of the bridge.

In the morning, walk the riverside path through Takachiho Gorge to the much-photographed Manai Falls. Then cross into Oita to see Harajiri Falls, a wide curtain of water often called the Niagara of Japan. Above Yufuin, stop at Sagiridai lookout for a view across the town to Mount Yufu, then visit the Iwashita Collection, a private museum full of classic motorcycles. Later, the road climbs through the cedar forests of Mount Hikosan, a sacred mountain where yamabushi (mountain monks) once trained.

Your first stop is Onta, a hillside village where potters still crush their clay with wooden hammers driven by the stream. Next, take a break in the old merchant streets of Hita before riding up onto the open Kuju highlands. Stop at Oike, a spring rising in a quiet forest, then at Guernsey Farm for soft-serve ice cream made from the milk of its rare Guernsey cows. Over Hakoishi Pass, grassland roads lead to Daikanbō Lookout on the rim of the Aso caldera, with the five peaks of Mount Aso across the valley. End the day by soaking in your hotel's onsen (a natural hot-spring bath).

Make the most of a last morning on the grassland roads around the caldera before turning north. Quiet back roads take you through the forested Chikushi mountains and down towards Fukuoka. After you return your motorcycle at Fukuoka Airport, the evening in the city is yours, and the yatai (small street food stalls) along the river are a good place for a celebratory bowl of ramen.

After breakfast at your hotel, the day is yours. Tenjin is the place for shopping, or take the train to Dazaifu, a famous shrine with a street of snack shops on the way in. After six days of riding, it's also a good day to simply rest.

After breakfast and checkout, it's time to head to Fukuoka Airport for your flight home. Remember that the airport terminals have plenty of local souvenirs, like the Hakata Torimon soft baked bun.