Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
36,782km²
Area
2,074km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
1,791m
Highest point
Kuju Mountains
13,061,879
People
28°C
Warmest sea
August
130km
To the mainland
When to go to Kyushu
Best for the beach from June to September.
The sea is warmest in August (28 °C) and coolest in February (16 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from June to November.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Third largest island of Japan
Kyushu is an island in Japan. It belongs to Japanese archipelago. It covers 36,782 km², with 2,074 km of coastline. Its highest point, Kuju Mountains, rises to 1,791 m. About 13,061,879 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 130 km away.
Getting there
- Kumamoto Airport (KMJ)main airport (6 on the island with scheduled flights)Car hire at FUK airport (Fukuoka)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesVienus;Ferry Chikushi, Kokudo Kyushi Ferry (Misaki - Saganoseki), Kagoshima - Tanegashima, Kagoshima - Tanegashima / Yakushima
- 130 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From June to Septemberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Kyushu.
- 236beachesIso Beach, Najima Beach, Tanoura Beach and 233 more
- 536viewpointsShiroyama Park Observation Deck, Karasujima Observation Point, Shiroyama Lookout and 533 more
- 77lighthousesSekisaki Lighthouse and 76 more
- 94ferry terminalsBeppu Port, 3, Canal Station Tower City and 91 more
- 29marinasNagasaki Dejima Harbor, Beppu Kitahama Yacht Harbor, Beppu Kusunoki Port and 26 more
- 1,260named peaksMount Nakadake, Mt. Taisen, Mt. Inaboshi and 1,257 more
- 13volcanoesMt. Kuju, Mt. Kirishima, Mount Aso and 10 more
- 110waterfallsKiyomizu Falls, Sagiri Falls, Hakuryu Falls and 107 more
- 181castles and fortsKii Castle Ruins, Nakatsu Castle, Hitoyoshi Castle and 178 more
- 597ruins and archaeological sitesObi Castle and 596 more
- 1surf spotsKizakihama Surf Point
- 69waymarked walking routesKyushu Nature Trail, Katumori Park, Fukuoka University and 66 more
- 136campsitesWakasugi Rakuen Camp Site, Bokketsuru Camping Ground, Ebino Plateau Camp Village and 133 more
- 1,277hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 7,488restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Kyushu in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Kyushu, each with its own numbers.
25beaches and covesCoastya
16lakesLakeyas
84waterfallsCascadyas
Tallest waterfall
100m
Mikaeri Falls
according to Cascadyas
Largest lake
10.5km²
Lake Ikeda
233 m deep · according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
32.1°C
池ノ内湖
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
28.3°C
Kozuka Hama
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
25 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Fukuhama Beach26.7°C
- Shingū Hama26.9°C
- Ashiya Kaigan26.9°C
- Namaitaga-hama27.4°C
- Matsuzakino Hama28.2°C
- Natsuiga Hama26.9°C
- Fukiage-hama28.2°C
- Heta Kaigan28.2°C
17 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
16 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Lake Ikeda233 m deep10.5km²
- Lake Unagi1.1km²
- Lake Miike103 m deep0.59km²
- Kawachi Reservoir0.38km²
- Yamashita Ike0.37km²
- Imuta-ike0.33km²
- Ōnami Pond0.28km²
- Lake Ezu0.22km²
8 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
84 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Mikaeri Falls100m
- Nishishiiya Falls86m
- Higashishiiya Falls85m
- Yatogi Falls73m
- Sendan-todoro no Taki70m
- Sgaru Falls60m
- Ryumon Falls46m
- Harajiri Falls20m
76 more on CascadyasCascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 308 m above the sea. 47 % of it is below 200 m.
- 20 %0–50 m
- 27 %50–200 m
- 30 %200–500 m
- 20 %500–1,000 m
- 3 %1,000–2,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
200 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Fukuoka1,612,392 people
- Kitakyushu940,978 people
- Kumamoto738,907 people
- Kagoshima595,049 people
- Kotō543,730 people
- Ōita477,715 people
- Nagasaki409,118 people
- Miyazaki401,339 people
- Kurume303,579 people
- Sasebo243,223 people
- Saga233,301 people
- Miyakonojō161,137 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 5 | 8 | 11 | 17 | 22 | 24 | 28 | 28 | 25 | 19 | 14 | 7 |
| Night low (°C) | -3 | -2 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 10 | 4 | -1 |
| Sea (°C) | 17 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 26 | 28 | 26 | 24 | 22 | 19 |
| Rain (mm) | 69 | 101 | 129 | 156 | 186 | 398 | 396 | 216 | 226 | 125 | 96 | 79 |
| Wet days | 9 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 15 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Sun h/day | 3.7 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 6.0 | 6.1 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 6.4 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 4.5 | 3.6 |
| Wind (km/h) | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 12 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.2 | +0.1 | −0.3 | −0.7 | −0.3 | +0.5 | −0.5 | +0.6 | ±0.0 | +0.4 | +0.8 | +0.4 |
| 2021 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +1.1 | +0.8 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +1.5 | −0.5 | −0.7 |
| 2022 | −0.8 | −1.1 | −0.4 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +1.2 | +1.3 | +1.1 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | −0.7 |
| 2023 | −0.8 | −0.3 | +0.5 | +0.6 | ±0.0 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +0.3 | +0.1 | ±0.0 |
| 2024 | −0.4 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +1.9 | +1.9 | +1.5 | +1.0 | −0.7 |
| 2025 | −1.0 | −1.8 | −1.2 | −0.8 | −0.5 | +0.7 | +1.9 | +1.1 | +2.1 | +2.3 | +0.9 | ±0.0 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Hashima Island
Japan0.07 km²32 m125 km away
Hirado IslandJapan164 km²535 m141 km away
Nagashima IslandJapan91 km²404 m124 km away
Iki IslandJapan134 km²213 m148 km away
OkinoshimaJapan0.94 km²244 m161 km away
AoshimaJapan0.45 km²92 m160 km away
ShikokuJapan18,297 km²1,982 m247 km awayEtajimaJapan91 km²318 m190 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q13987) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Lakeyas, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
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mountains
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islands
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rivers
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canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit