March 6 - 13, 2012
Price TBA
(based on double occupancy)

Tour Includes:
• Tour Escort from Hawaii
• Hotel Accommodations at one hotel for duration of tour
• Airfare from Honolulu to Fukuoka roundtrip
• Ground Transportation as indicated in the Itinerary
• Daily breakfast and dinner
• Admission to all sights, attractions, and tours as indicated by itinerary

A morning flight takes us to Tokyo.

Upon arrival in Tokyo, we must first pass through immigration and then customs formalities.  We will then connect to our next flight to Fukuoka.  Upon arrival we will go to our hotel for our stay in Kyushu.

We begin our tour with a visit to Dazaifu, where we will visit Dazaifu Tenmangu and the Kyushu National museum.  Dazaifu Tenmangu is dedicated to Sugawara Michizane, an imperial scholar unfairly exiled from Kyoto in the 9th century.  Also known as Tenjin, he is the guardian of scholars, and is regularly called upon by earnest students preparing for exams.  The Kyushu National Museum opened in 2005 and focuses not just on Japan's natural history all the way back to pre-historic times, but also Japan's relationship with neighboring countries.

Our destination today is Nagasaki, where we will also visit the Glover House, home to Thomas Glover, a Scotsman who came to Nagasaki just as Japan’s doors re-opened to the world.  He was an enterprising gentleman who founded a coal mining company as well as a beer brewery, which would become known as Kirin Beer.  His home is said to have inspired the author of the book for the opera, Madame Butterfly. 

We head further south to Kumamoto.  There we will explore Kumamoto jo, the Hosokawa castle that withstood a siege by Saigo Takamori at the beginning of the Meiji period.  The Hosokawa clan ruled over Kumamoto for two hundred years.  We will then stroll through Suizenji-koen, a park built by the Hosokawa clan that took over 80 years to construct.  Its design recreates scenes from the road from Tokyo to Kyoto.  Miyamoto Musashi, one of Japan’s most famous samurai, spent his last years in Kumamoto.  We will visit the cave, Reigando, where he lived for two years writing his seminal work, The Book of Five Rings.

Our destination for the day is the furthest south we will travel in Kyushu, Kagoshima.  In Kagoshima, we will visit the Atsuhime Museum.  Atsuhime was the wife of the thirteenth Tokugawa Shogun, Iesada, and her life story was recently made into an NHK Taiga Drama.  From there we will visit Senganen, a garden created by the Shimazu clan in 1658.  The garden faces Sakurajima and was designed to make it appear as though Sakurajima and Kinko Bay were part of the garden itself.  From the garden we will then go to Sakurajima, weather permitting.  On rainy days and eruption days, travel is limited.  Sakurajima is a volcanic island and possesses the most active volcanos in Japan.  It is noted for its Daikon which grow quite large, nearly a foot in a diameter.

On our last day we will enjoy a free day.  You may wish to visit Canal City, a district considered a city within a city, with extensive shopping, hotels, theaters, and restaurants.  It is noted for its unique design and architecture.

An afternoon flight takes us back to Honshu where we will be catching a flight back to Honolulu.  Upon arrival, we will pass through immigration and customs.