LAND OF MANY SURPRISES
KYUSHU, NESTLED IN THE SOUTH-WEST, is Japan’s third largest island. It is significantly smaller than both Honshu and Hokkaido and, with 13 million inhabitants, is vastly under populated by Japanese standards. That’s why the locals say Kyushu is Japan’s forgotten island – a kind of estranged little brother who is misunderstood or, at best, simply not appreciated by its siblings. But those who live there are quite happy to be Japan’s secret little paradise, which is most definitely what Kyushu is. It is an island of extreme natural beauty every bit as clean and green as New Zealand, if not more so, and breathtaking in its vistas. For New Zealanders who make it there, it will appear that Kyushu is a perfect blend of the South and North Islands with towering, breath-taking mountains and…