Craft tourism in the remote north of Japan's Kyushu Island

HITA, Japan -- Hita, located in the northern part of Kyushu Island's Oita prefecture, is a pleasant provincial town with glimpses of nearby hills and modest mountain peaks. It is a well-watered spot, with four nearby rivers, but much of it is also a chaotic mashup of roads, uncoordinated buildings, overhead wires and cables, in common with countless other towns in Japan.