By plane
Fukuoka is Japan's busiest international hub after the trio of Tokyo, Chubu and Kansai and has excellent connections throughout Asia and Japan. All the other prefectural capitals also offer limited service within Japan and to a few major Asian cities (typically Seoul and Shanghai).
By train
The San'yo Shinkansen line runs from Osaka to Fukuoka and many trains continue along the Kyushu Shinkansen line to Kagoshima. All Shinkensen trains stop at Kokura Station in Kitakyushu and Hakata Station in Fukuoka; a trip by train all the way from Tokyo takes 5:40 by Nozomi and costs �22,000. There are no Hikari trains that go the full distance from Tokyo to Hakata, so With the JR Pass, you'll need to change trains. You can also go from Osaka to Hakata with the JR West San'yo Pass.
The Kyushu Shinkansen crosses the west side of the island to Kagoshima in the south. Many trains to Kagoshima start in Osaka, and the full coarse takes about 4 hours by Mizuho and �21,000. The JR pass is not accepted on Mizuho trains, but they are accepted on Sakura trains which make the journey in 4.5 hours. A journey from Tokyo (with a change in Osaka) takes a little over 7 hours and costs just under �30,000, add an hour with the JR Pass for a Hakari to Sakura connection in Shin-Osaka or Okayama.
The Hakata to Kagoshima run takes about 1.5 hours. There are also good Limited Express trains servicing most anywhere of interest on the island, so you can take train from Hakata to just about anywhere else of interest on the island in about an hour in a half. The exception being Miyazaki which is about four hours from hakata.
By bus
Willer Express is a company which provides daily night time bus services from Nagoya, Tokyo, and Osaka to Kyushu. They offer an online booking services in Japanese, English & Korean.
By boat
Fukuoka is also the gateway to South Korea via Busan by ferry, and a few
