Originally Posted by
ksandness
Beppu is kitschy, but kind of fun.
Kumamoto was interesting, too, but I don't know how the recent earthquake has affected it.
I was there recently, the earthquake has affected Kumamoto's major tourist site: its castle, which is closed due to repairs. But still, we had a good time in the city and visited a great temple (Honmyo-ji) - although the temple was also damaged.