Oita City Rugby's Newest Frontier

After hosting a brilliant World Cup, Japan has put itself on the rugby map. But what surely became clear as the tournament played out, is that it is a country offering a rich and diverse tourism experience and it's unique culture and identity is partly what made the World Cup the success it was.

And few places in Japan have more to offer than Oita, the site of the All Blacks pool game against Canada and venue for the quarter-finals involving England, Australia, Wales and France.

Oita is nestled in the North-East of Kyushu, Japan's third largest island. It is significantly smaller than both Honshu and Hokkaido and with 12 million inhabitants, is vastly under populated by Japanese standards.

It is green and spectacular. There are mountains, rivers, lakes and in the Oita prefecture, there are hot