Kumamoto Castle

Mt. Aso is one of the world's largest volcanic calderas, featuring an active crater that puffs volcanic smoke. The surrounding grasslands offer dramatic landscapes, and the area has been inhabited for centuries despite the volcanic activity.

Dazaifu Tenmangu is a grand Shinto shrine dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane, the deity of learning and scholarship. Millions of students visit each year to pray for academic success, and the surrounding approach is famous for plum blossoms.

Nakasu's outdoor food stalls come alive at night along the riverbanks, offering Fukuoka's famous ramen, oden, and yakitori. Sitting elbow-to-elbow with locals at these tiny open-air stalls is a quintessential Fukuoka experience.

Glover Garden is an open-air museum on a hillside housing Western-style mansions built by foreign merchants in the Meiji era. The garden offers panoramic views of Nagasaki harbor and tells the story of the city's unique international history.

Hashima Island, nicknamed Battleship Island, is a UNESCO World Heritage-listed abandoned coal mining island. Once the most densely populated place on Earth, its decaying concrete ruins are a haunting testament to Japan's industrial history.

The Hells of Beppu are seven unique hot spring pools in vivid colors — from blood red to cobalt blue — too hot for bathing but visited for their dramatic visual spectacle. Beppu is Japan's largest hot spring resort, producing enormous volumes of steam.