Kyushu Counterclockwise

There is a ferry from Tokyo to Kyushu, all the most people don't know about it because it's slow and expensive. But it's not expensive, at least relatively speaking, if you already own a car and your other option is to fly to Kyushu and rent a car. So then you might think to yourself, "Why don't I go down there for two weeks and camp and hike? That seems like fun, right?" And you would be right. It is a lot of fun.

One thing to be careful of is the weather. In the age of climate change, all kinds of exciting things can happen. For example, it could be above 100° for seven days in a row. That's the kind of thing that might make one want to stay inside. It's also the kind of thing that might make one want to climb high mountains, because the temperatures are cooler the higher you go. If you were to climb, for example, Mt. Kyo (Saga) and Mt. Unzen (Miyazaki), you could take the ferry and then drive south camp on the coast, and then climb Mt. Kaimon (Kagoshima) and Mt. Karakuni (Miyazaki), the highest peak of Mt. Kirishima.

You might be inclined to summit Mt. Kunimi (Kumamoto), but that's easier said than done because mudslides took out all of the roads leading to all of the trailheads anywhere near the summit, and mudslides may also have taken out of the trails, although we can't find out until the roads get rebuilt. So then you might drive north, because the mountains near Mt. Aso are panoramic and onsen abound.

The highlights of hiking in Kyushu are perhaps Mt. Aso (Kumamoto) and Mt. Kuju (Oita). It's well worth driving on the Aso Panorama Line, and then following the Yamanami Highway — what a spectacular road — all the way into Beppu, so that you can tour the seven Hells, although the prospect of going to see extra hot hot springs on hot summer days might lead some to wonder when proper planning went out the window. But by the time you think about that, after a brief stop at a monkey nature preserve and an aquarium, you'll have moved on, back to the cooler mountains, so that you can summit Mt. Sobo (Miyazaki) and Mt. Shaka (Fukuoka).

And that's it. By that point you will have climbed the highest point in each prefecture in mainland Kyushu, along with the Top 100 Mountains located therein. You will also have ridden two of the Top 16 Motorcycle Roads. If you still have time to spare, you could drive to eastern Yamaguchi and hike Mt. Jakuchi before slowly meandering back east, along the northwestern coast of the prefecture, finally returning to the ferry terminal in Kitakyushu. That all makes for a nice vacation. You should try it sometime.