The coastline of northern Kyushu is rugged and wild, a place where the land meets the often-turbulent Genkai Sea. It’s here, just a short drive from the city of Karatsu in Saga Prefecture, that you’ll find Nanatsugama—the Seven Caves. This…
Fukuoka’s food culture runs deep. Beyond the ramen stalls and yatai carts, there are quieter, more focused traditions. One of these centers on gyutan—beef tongue—treated not as a side dish, but as a complete experience. I walked into Tenjin Tanka…
Fukuoka · Oita · Kumamoto · Kagoshima · 7 days by train and bus By Nobu · Updated October 2026 The Ruby Route is a week-long loop through Kyushu’s hot springs and volcanoes that starts and ends at Hakata Station:…
Kusasenri (草千里ヶ浜) is a vast grassland plateau in Aso, Kumamoto Prefecture, with grazing horses, a crater lake, and the active Mt. Aso volcano in the background. The closest analog to its landscape isn’t typical Japan — it’s closer to Iceland…
Nearly every image on Hidden Japan Gems was photographed by me on a Sony α7 across five years of walking Japan; a few licensed photos fill the gaps. Please don't re-use my photos without permission — reach out if you'd like to.
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