Onward to Kyushu! After much waffling and failed couchsurfing requests (I was way too disorganised for it!) I decided on a vague itinerary: Fukuoka-Nagasaki-Kumamoto-Aso and possibly Kagoshima, depending on if the timing worked out. It didn't, lol. I'll just hit the highlights here to save space and energy.
Fukuoka: meh, nothing exciting.
Nagasaki: lovely hilly/port city, kickass hostel including a party for a returning guest, a French invasion and bonus free breakfast. Penguin darts and pool, lots of wandering and a pretty upsetting experience at the Peace Park Museum.
Kumamoto: Cool castle but nowhere for me to sleep! Rushed onwards.
Aso: Hostel run by the little old lady in Tonari no Tottoro. Pretty creepy when you're the only one staying in a giant hostel in the middle of nowhere! Just one night though and an interesting visit to Mt. Aso the next day. First visit (in my memory) to an active volcano! I could see it smoking but the cable car over the crater was closed due to volcano activity. Ah well.
Beppu: Very cool place! I got to see 3 different multi-coloured hotsprings (pictured below) before it started absolutely pouring and I decided to call it quits and head onward to my next spot, back to Hiroshima for the night, then Nagoya for two nights.
