You only live twice

Many Westerners know little about the Japan outside of its major cities. But the country has much to offer, as Sebastian Schmitz found out when he travelled to the island of Kyushu - where some scenes from of a famous film were shot during the late 1960s.

KUMAMOTO

A Japan Airlines Boeing 767 is being loaded for a trip to Tokyo.
(All photos author except where stated)

The 126m people who live on Japan’s 6,852 islands have become accustomed to using bullet trains to move around, but air travel still forms an intrinsic part of the country’s transportation network. The 1,869 miles long (3,008km) chain has almost 100 airports served by scheduled flights. Away from the well-known hubs, such as Narita, Haneda and Kansai, there are smaller facilities that support the domestic market, and host a limited range of international links.

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