Kyushu

Despite its modern-day reputation as something of a backwater, Kyushu's history has been more linked with the West than any of the other main islands. The port of Nagasaki, in particular, was the only place in the country where trading with the outside world was permitted during Japan's nearly 300 years of self-imposed isolation under the Tokugawa shogunate.
Today, the majority of visitors to Kyushu pause briefly in Fukuoka (see p336), the island's capital, before making a beeline for Nagasaki (see p343), the second city in Japan to be hit with an atomic bomb in 1945. But if you're prepared to devote more time to seeing the island, it really is worth travelling further south.
Perhaps because of its relatively mild climate, Kyushu feels more relaxed and the people more laid back than on Honshu. This may also have something to do with the popularity of shochu, a strong spirit found in every bar that becomes even stronger and more popular the further south you go.
A trip down the west coast brings you to the shochu capital, Kagoshima (see p355), sometimes described as the 'Naples of the East', and neighbouring Sakurajima (see p361), one of the world's most active volcanoes.

Over on the east coast, fans of water parks, flumes and a year-round tropical climate shouldn't miss a trip to the giant Ocean Dome in Miyazaki (see p333). And right in the centre of the island, a perfect side trip by rail from either the east or west coasts, lies formidable Mt Aso (see p334), where visitors can peer over the top of an active volcanic crater.
Kyushu can be reached easily by rail from Honshu via the Tokaido and Sanyo shinkansen lines which run from Tokyo to the terminus in Hakata (Fukuoka). JR Kyushu runs an efficient network that will take you just about anywhere and uses limited expresses on most of its lines. For details of JR Kyushu's rail pass, see p14.
Nagasaki can be seen in a couple of days but allow at least a week if you're travelling down either coast and planning to fit in a visit to Mt Aso as well.