"Too many foreign visitors never see more of Japan than Tokyo plus maybe a quick jaunt to Osaka or at most Kyoto. But it pays, when seeking out a new travel destination, to find out where the locals go on holiday. And in the Japan’s case, one of the answers is Kyushu, the most southwestern of the four main islands — here the climate is milder, almost tropical, and on the north end the mountains and valleys are traded in for calm seas and sandy beaches." - Tablet Hotels