From Tokyo: 5-Day Kyushu Meiji Heritage Customizable Tour

In only about 50 years, from the 1850s to 1910, Japan built heavy industry. Many of these places are now part of the UNESCO site Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution. This tour visits three of them.

In Kitakyushu you see the Higashida First Blast Furnace, a large old furnace that stands for the Yawata Steel Works. The works opened in 1901 and helped make Japan a steel-making country.

In Omuta you visit the Miike coal mine. At the Miyanohara pit you see the tall steel tower and brick buildings of the old mine. A local museum explains the miners' work.

In Nagasaki you take a boat to Gunkanjima, also called Battleship Island. This small island was a busy coal mine with concrete apartment blocks. It closed in 1974. On a landing cruise you step onto the island's walkway and see the empty buildings from close.

This is a history tour. The mines were hard places to work. Your guide tells their story calmly and with respect.

This is a private tour. Only your group. One van, 1 to 6 people, never shared. Your driver-guide speaks English, and also Hindi and Urdu.

If the Gunkanjima landing cruise is closed or cancelled on your date, you can take a full refund of your booking, guaranteed. If you prefer, we can instead take a cruise around Gunkanjima from the sea, or visit Glover Garden, also part of the same World Heritage story.

DAY 1 Pickup at your Tokyo hotel and drive west to Okayama (about 8 to 9 hours with breaks).

DAY 2 Drive to Kitakyushu: Higashida First Blast Furnace. Drive on to Omuta.

DAY 3 Miike coal mine Miyanohara pit and the coal mine museum, then drive to Nagasaki.

DAY 4 Gunkanjima landing cruise in the morning, then drive to Okayama.

DAY 5 Drive back to your Tokyo hotel (about 8 to 9 hours with breaks).