Kyushu with its mild climate, has earned the title of “Food Island” by producing one fifth of Japan’s agricultural goods, including a wide variety of foods with high nutritional and health value. Southern Kyushu is particularly well-known for food products that are high in anti-oxidants. Home to many makers of shochu liquor, Kyushu boasts an abundance of brewing and fermentation technologies, with new biotech companies related to performance and gene analysis, etc., recently congregating here as well. Among them, TOYO SHINYAKU, a company that has acquired the highest number of permits in Japan for “Foods for Specified Health Uses”, has its headquarters here in Kyushu. As the demand for health products continues to grow, Kyushu offers great potential for businesses involved in food processing and the development of functional foods that contribute to health and science.

Large, sweet Amao strawberries have become a popular export item.

Purple sweet-potatoes, a specialty of southern Kyushu, are high in antioxidants. Among their beneficial effects, they have been shown to increase blood fluidity, improve liver function and control blood pressure.

Shochu is a type of distilled liquor made from wheat, rice, sweet potatoes and other ingredients to create a variety of flavors ranging from light and vodka-like to strong and similar to whiskey. Kyushu shochu is renowned worldwide and in recent years has become especially popular throughout the various countries of Southeast Asia.

As one of Japan’s leading resort destinations, Kyushu welcomes many domestic and international tourists throughout the year. With magnificent active volcanoes, relaxing and healing hot springs, and beautiful landscapes, the island is blessed with Nature. Kyushu also has large-scale theme parks, numerous golf courses and other major tourist attractions. Ripplewood, Colony, and other US investment companies have made investments in tourism here, showing their high evaluation of Kyushu’s potential for tourism. In recent years, visitors to the island from China and Korea have increased notably. The public and private sectors have established the Kyushu Tourism Promotion Organization and are working together to make Kyushu an even more attractive destination and draw even more tourists from abroad.

Seagaia – A luxury hotel in Miyazaki, one of Kyushu’s prominent resort areas, and the venue for the Kyushu-Okinawa G8 Summit 2000 Meeting of Foreign Ministers

Huis Ten Bosch – A popular resort that recreates a 17th century Dutch town.

Yakushima island – A World Natural Heritage famous for its ancient cedars, some as much as 3000 years old.

Mt. Aso – An active volcano, with one of the largest caldera’s in the world, offers fantastic panoramic natural views from its peaks.

Beppu Hot Springs – One of Japan’s preeminent hot springs, with the 2nd largest volume of spring water in the world, after only Yellowstone National Park in the US.

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