Just 36 hours after returning from my travels around Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Shiga and Aichi, and I was off again on another short trip further afield. After an absence of ten years, it was time to return to Japan’s most southerly main island for three days and two nights. The time-codes included are just to give an idea of how busy the trip was. As ever a  lot of time was spent on trains and buses between those times!

11:55 – My arrival at Oita Airport was 20 minutes later than scheduled and consequently I missed my intended local bus. What followed was a coach ride to a drop-off point in the middle of nowhere. I then walked for 40 minutes to the samurai district of Kitsuki which is famed for its sloping streets. More details here.

13:48 – Kitsuki-jo Castle looked good from afar overlooking the coastline but was probably smaller than I imagined when I saw it up close. Turns out that it’s the smallest castle in all of Japan! More details here.

15:40 – There was a quick stop at Beppu station en-route to Oita. The area is famed for its hot spring baths but I didn’t feel any urge for such a thing so just looked at Beppu tower; a 100 metre construction that was built in 1957 to try and boost tourism. More details here.

16:30 – This was an unstaffed station I’d read about in a Japanese magazine a while back but sadly it had undergone something of a facelift since then. More details here.

17:20 – Back at Oita station, I came across a huge kokeshi doll outside the main entrance. They are thought to ward off evil spirits and protect homes from fire but if your house was on fire then I doubt such a wooden ornament would do much to stop it burning!

18:23 – The 40 minute ride from the station to Resonac Dome Oita has to be one of the longest shuttle buses in all of Japan but it’s still worth it for me to see one of my bucketlist stadiums. More details here.

20:58 – It’s a good job I wasn’t too bothered by the actual football on this occasion as it finished 0-0 and was one of the worst matches I’ve ever seen! More details here.

05:07 – A very early start to see this local modern art museum (simply known as Art Plaza) close to my hotel. It was of course closed but thankfully I only wanted to see the unique concrete exterior which was designed by a local architect.

06:31 – A one hour train journey north just to see some signage at a station with a connection of sorts to the USA! More details here.

10:31 – After some more luxurious travel than usual I arrived at this quirky-looking kappa station in Fukuoka prefecture. The weather for my time at this station really could not have been much worse as there were swirling winds and heavy rain. More details here.

12:39 – My first port of call in Saga Prefecture was a 1:20 scale sized replica of the Eiffel Tower which was completed as a hobby in 2001 at a cost of 17 million yen. More details here.

13:00 – The unstaffed stations I visit around Japan are usually planned in advance but this one just happened to be the closest to the aforementioned 20 metre tower. A bonus of sorts. Well, for me it was! More details here.

14:09 – There’s a brief detour into Fukuoka Prefecture for the second time on this day as I went to see the first of two platform zeros in this region. More details here.

19:03 – Unlike Oita, Sagan Tosu probably have the most conveniently located stadium in all of Japan. It turned out to be one of my favourite ever away days with the Kashiwa Reysol faithful. More details here.

07:39 – My interest in this Otolaryngology Clinic, completed in 1986, was just the intricate design itself which looks very differently from all directions, and comes across as being something of a concrete fortress. More details here.

08:52 – Ramen is not usually something I’d eat for breakfast but I made an exception at this 24 hour restaurant which probably serves up the country’s cheapest version of the noodles and broth dish. More details here.

11:13 – Bad traffic meant it took a bit longer than expected to get to Shime to see an old shafting mine structure which was once the only national coal mine in Japan. More details here.

11:41 – Remember what I said about the other unstaffed station in this post? Well that was also for true for this one at a place called Sue. More details here.

12:44 – The world’s largest bronze statue at Nanzoin Temple is 41 metres in length and  depicts the Buddha at the moment of peaceful passing and entry into nirvana. More details here.

14:09 – The second platform zero station is at the end of the line just a little further east from the giant reclining buddha statue. More details here.

15:07 – On my way to the airport, there is time for one final minor sight by way of this quirky temple which is full of many round-faced gold and silver-coloured frog statues. More details here.

16:48 – As I was in the birthplace of tonkotsu ramen it felt right to finish my time in Kyushu at Fukuoka Airport (which honestly is abbreviated to FUK!) by having one final bowl of delicious noodles.

It was time to board the plane shortly after that and head back to reality after two fantastic but very busy trips which were basically built around seeing my Japanese football team play a couple of away games. As time went by, more and more places of interest were added to the itinerary resulting in what you have just seen in this post! Just reminiscing about it again has made me tired so you can only imagine how exhausting it was when I was on location last year. I absolutely loved it though and am so glad I made the most of my time there.

Click here to read ‘The Reality of Being a Blogger (Part 1): 15 B-Grade Spots In 5 Prefectures In 36 Hours’

Click here to read ’12 Hours In Fukuoka: Unique Architecture, Cheap Ramen, A Frog Temple, Platform Zeros & The World’s Largest Bronze Statue!’

Click here to read ’20 Hours In Oita: A Samurai District, An Iconic Tower, Modern Architecture, A Taste of America & A Few Quirky Sights!’