Roaming around Southern Japan early 2012
 

Now that I've got my Japan bike licence and a decent bike to ride I'm eager to start exploring more of this land of islands. Looking to get started in January heading south and west of the Kansai region. I plan to do a combination of camping and hostels. No set itinerary but Shikoku and Kyushu look like great touring areas. No set time limits.
Happy to have company for parts of the tour and to meet up with any other HU readers along the way.

Update
I just took the ferry from Osaka to Shanghai via Kagoshima located at the bottom of Kyushu. Sailing past the Kagoshima prefecture revealed a landscape of rugged mountains covered in dense forrest, however also visible was the line through the trees indicating mountain roads. This area is renowned for it's natural beauty, hot springs and small fishing villages along the coast. Looks to have fantastic bike touring potential.