Kyushu’s climate is defined by a mild, sunny winter, a hot and very rainy summer, and a spring and summer season that can go either way. On the island of Kyushu, the winter climate is relatively mild, but it's quite rainy.

If you can time it right, the Takachiho Gorge in Miyazaki prefecture (which is not located particularly close to Miyazaki City, I should warn you—this day trip to Takachiho from Kumamoto illustrates that) is a great place to see Kyushu autumn colors. Per Japanese census data,[10][11] the Kyushu region's population with Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa and Kagoshima Prefectures) has experienced a large population decline since around 2000 whose population decline has softened mainly due to relatively high birth rate of Ryukyuans both within the Ryukyuan lands (Okinawa and Kagoshima) and throughout the Kyushu region.


Except for Oita and Miyazaki, the eastern seaboard shows a general decline in population. Temperature increases (decreases) in front (back) of cyclonic systems due to warm southerly (cold northerly) flow. [13], Besides the volcanic area of the south, there are significant mud hot springs in the northern part of the island, around Beppu. Heavy industry is concentrated in the north around Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, Nagasaki, and Oita and includes chemicals, automobiles, semiconductors, and metal processing. The good news?

Cold air flowed southeastward across Japan, bringing sunny conditions to Kyushu (South) and cloudy conditions to Amami. Figure 5 Weather chart for 00UTC on 23 March 2012 Another awesome part of my latest trip to Oita prefecture was renting a car and driving northward to the Kunisaki peninsula, where destinations like the castle town of Kitsuki, Futago-ji temple deep in the forest and the vibrant Usa Jingu shrine surprised and delighted me. The Baiu front brought heavy rainfall to Kyushu (South) and Amami. The Ryukyuans are an indigenous minority group in Japan.

Most Kyushu travel starts in Fukuoka, especially if this is where you’re arriving in Japan.
Kyushu has rapidly improved its Wi-Fi infrastructure alongside the rest of Japan; unlimited data SIMs are available for purchase at Fukuoka Airport, assuming you aren’t arriving at Haneda or Narita and picking one up there. In the previous incarnation of my Kyushu travel guide, I focused largely on the Beppu Onsen hot springs you can actually swim in. The Shinkansen, for example, only runs between Fukuoka (Hakata), Kumamoto and Kagoshima, which means that for travel to cities like Nagasaki, Beppu and Miyzaki, you’ll need to avail ordinary express trains; some destinations (such as Mt. Amami has mild winters due to its location in a subtropical area. Aso from Kumamoto, an overnight excursion. I’ll be honest: Before my latest trip, Kumamoto was not one of my favorite Kyushu destinations. The Impact of Covid-19 on Kyushu The good news is that no matter when you travel, much of the advice I present in this Kyushu travel blog will be relevant. my stream-of-consciousness style Kyushu travel blog posts, a post that compares and contrasts Shikoku vs. Kyushu, like the rest of Japan, it remains indefinitely off limits to foreign tourists. Figure 2 Seasonal variation of meteorological elements in Kagoshima City The green, red and blue lines indicate monthly averages of daily mean, maximum and minimum temperatures, respectively. In spring (March-April-May), migratory cyclones and anticyclones that alternately move eastward prevail across Japan. Clear weather was observed from Kyushu (South) to Tokai due to the passage of anticyclonic systems. [4], As of 2018[update], Kyushu has a population of 14,311,224 and covers 36,782 square kilometres (14,202 sq mi). These are largely due to the fact that I traveled to Kyushu most recently during the month of November which, along with May, is one of my favorite months to visit Japan in general.