Jay K
Kyushu is where it’s at! If you want something totally different from the Tokyo/Osaka or the Kyoto/Nara feel, come down South.

Beppu is full of hot springs, and Yufuin, as you saw is the same, only with better scenery.

I also used to live in Kagoshima and I HIGHLY recommend the Kirishima National Park area, Sakurajima (a live volcano across the bay from a city of 500,000), Kaimon-dake Mountain and the sandbaths of Ibusuki, and most of all, the islands of Yakushima and Amami Oshima. There is string of islands between Kagoshima and Okinawa that are hands down, some of the best travelling to be had in Japan.

Check it out!

And last but not least, the ramen in Fukuoka is number1

If you’re going to Kyushu, I highly recommend Kagoshima and Beppu. Even if you’re not into onsen bathing, the “hells” of Beppu are pretty neat. If you are into onsens, I totally recommend Kurokawa Onsen: I visited it once a couple years ago and it was awesome.