Rough Japan Itinerary

Hey all! I've managed to put together a rough itinerary now for a japan trip in April with a friend of mine.

Thus far, it looks like:

May 14-17: Tokyo

May 17-19: Nyuto Onsen (tsurunoyu)

May 19-22: Kumano Kodo (nakahechi route)

May 23-27: Yakushima

May 28-June 1: Tokyo

Does this seem appropriate? I'm worried that putting Nyuto Onsen at the beginning of the trip will have a major train ride to Shirahama where the Kumano Kodo is. We've got JR passes and all, but it'll still be a full day on the train.

We're planning on taking the nighttime route from Shirahama to Kagoshima so we can sleep and not lose out on any time. Also, is that many days in Yakushima advisable?

Thanks guys!! Any reply is greatly appreciated!

Your trip is scattered around Japan, but that does not make it a bad choice.

(A) Starting in Tokyo is good.

(B) Nyuto Onsen is #2 on Uji's top nine Onsens. I would have suggested some of the the Onsens in the Kumano Region. There are three Onsens around Hongu Taisha, and Shirahama and Katsuura on the coast, but I trust Uji's judgement on the best Onsens in Japan. (In Uji I trust...)

If I were to push you towards a different selection, it would be to Uji's 1, Kusatsu Onsen, because it is closer to the Kumano Region, or Uji's 3,4,5 choices, because they are between Kumano and Yakushima.

http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+94500

(C) Kumano Kodo is part of the 33 Temple Saikoku Kannon Pilgrimage, and I cannot fault anyone doing that. I have only done the 34 Kannon Chichibu Pilgrimage, but I wish to follow the trails that you are going on. I like the Kumano Region a lot, and have gone all three times I have gone to Japan.

(D) I've been to Yakushima, but only taken the bus tour. If you are backpacking, I am not sure how long is advisable. I can give you information about the bus tour. Here is a link to the Yaku Monkey Guide, which probably has better information about mountain huts:

http://www.yakumonkey.com/

Have you thought about Takachiho?

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e8050.html

I think you will have a wonderful time.

I hope this helps.

Thank you so much for the help! I'm checking out Uji's picks and they seem much more reasonable given our trajectory. Since we have a few days in Tokyo at the end, we might see about doing the Nyuto Onsen overnight then. We just have to decide for ourselves if it's worth the 3 hour train ride there and back from tokyo!

Thanks so much again for the help, it's greatly appreciated. It's always tough planning for a trip like this!

Hey y'all! After more research, I've zeroed in on some itinerary details after looking at travel times.

So the itinerary now looks somewhat like this:

Tokyo:

14-17th

Kumano:

18th (train from Tokyo, stay overnight in Kii-Tanabe)

19th (early morning start Nakahechi route to Hongu Taisha, Takijiri-oji to Tsugizakura-oji)

20th (Next day hike to Hongu Taisha, stay Yunomine Onsen)

21st (Bus from Hongu to Koguchi, Hike Koguchi to Nachi-Taisha, board train to Osaka and head to Kagoshima overnight)

Yakushima
22-26th (rent car. Maybe too many days in Yakushima? Want to make the long train ride worth it)

Tokyo
27-31st

Does this look alright? We're wondering if maybe going from the eastern Kii peninsula to Osaka and then to Yakushima can all be done in the same day as the hike to Nachi taisha. Is nachi taisha even worth it? Should we just do the Hongu Taisha route? We have to be in Kagoshima sometime by the late morning so we can catch the ferry to Yakushima, so we thought a JR train route overnight would be ideal. (we're also buying a 14-day JR pass to cover the long distances)

We're also looking into possibly breaking up the Yakushima-Tokyo train ride on the way back with some of Uji's favorite hot springs.

Anyway, thanks so much in advance guys, really appreciate all the help.

(A) in Kumano Region

In Kii-Tanabe, the bus depot is next to the station, so try to get a hotel close by, especially if you are going to get on the 6:24 AM Ryujin Bus to Hongu Taisha. If you are a later sleeper, you could stay in Shirahama and catch the bus from there. Here is a link to bus timetables in the Kumano region in English:

http://www.tb-kumano.jp/en/transport/bus/

I think that it is a good idea to visit one of the Onsens around Hongu Taisha. I usually stay at the Hotel Urashima in Katsuura, which is a resort with Hot Springs Sea Caves. It is a different atmosphere than an Onsen, which you may or may not like. Watching the Sushi carving demonstration is also fun.

The Limited Express train from KiiKatsuura (a station near Nachi Taisha) to Shin-Osaka is about 4 hours. The Shinkansen train from SHin-Osaka to Kagoshima is also about 4 hours long, and you may have as much as a one hour wait between trains (Lunch or Dinner). I would not short yourself on the final day at Nachi Falls and rush off to catch a train. I would consider staying in Kii-Katsuura overnight, or, just try to make it to Shin-Osaka. This would break up the trip to Kagoshima into two 4 hour train rides on different days.

(B) Overnight trains

A night train to Kagoshima does not exist.

The problem with the night train idea, is:

It works better going from Kagoshima to Tokyo.

The actual night train is the Sunrise Isumo/Sunrise Setto, which are two trains that join together in Okayama. The two linked trains then go to Tokyo.

You can catch the 6:29 PM Shinkansen Sakura 572 from Kagoshima-Chuo to Okayama, arriving at 10:00 PM. You will have 33 minutes to board the nighttrain before it takes off at 10:33 PM.

For this reason, I would put the Hot Springs visits to between Kumano and Kagoshima.

(C) Yakushima

If you are renting a car for Yakushima, does that mean that you will not be backpacking to mountain huts? Do you want the 2 day (one night) bus tour information? This could be extended to additional days with a car rental.

There are specific Jetfoils to take that dovetail well with the Kotsu bus sightseeing tours. The bus is set to arrive about 20 minutes after the Jetfoil docks, will take you and your luggage on a tour, and then drop you off at your hotel. The second tour pick you up, and drops off at a port about 20 minutes before the Jetfoil departs. The first bus makes for an easy day, and lets you get you rental car the following day.
The information ofr this is at the Yaku Monkey website I already gave you.

Is this information still helping you?

Thanks so much again man! You have no idea how much help you've been.

I'll look into Hotel Urashima, and the place around Hongu Taisha!

We were also wondering about possibly staying the night in Osaka to break the train ride into two trips. As long as we get to Kagoshima before the ferry to yakushima departs! I'll look into the places on the way that Uji recommends too.

As for overnight trains, very good to know! Thank you! I assume they're not covered by the JR pass however?

Also, we are renting a car in Yakushima but with the full intention of parking and then hiking. Is this not recommended? It'd be nice to go at our own pace, but I understand with the car we must hike back the way we came often.

Also, thanks to you I bought the Yakumonkey guide pdf, so I'm going to skim through it today to hopefully get helpful advice. I think we might possibly stay in Yakushima for 4 or 5 days so we can move at a slower pace. I'd love to hear your opinion however.

Again, thank you so much. This trip is really coming together thanks to you. It's hard planning for a place that's somewhat unknown, and planning for certain variables and all that. You're the best!

OK, the three Onsens that I was talking about near Hongu Taisha were Yunomine, Wataze, and Kawayu Onsens. You may have thought that I meant somewhere else, but you already picked the Yunomine Onsen.

If you do decide to stay in KiiKatsuura, an you like Hot Springs, I would suggest that you go past Shin-Osaka station, and pick a Hotel close to the Shinkansen line that runs between Shin-Osaka and Kagoshima. There are several, but the first that leaps out to me is the Hotel Route Inn Hakata in Fukuoka. There are others, but this one is pratically at Hakata station. The communal bath is in the basement, which is not very romantic, but Hakata is a very nice city to visit.

Transportation leaves Hakata for Beppu (JR train) and Kurokawa (bus), so you can go to either the next day, if you wish. You should be able to get to Kagoshima from either Hot Springs town.

There are several ferries and jetfoils to Yakyshima. Since you are backpacking, Why not take the overnight Ferry Hybiscus, and leaves Kagoshima Port at 6:00 PM. You will be sleeping on the ferry overnight. It will get to Yakushima at 7:00 AM.

When it is time to leave, the ferry departs at 8:20 AM and gets into Kagoshima at 2:40 PM. This gives you over three hours to get to Kagoshima-Chuo to catch the Shinkansen to Okayama. I am mentioning the ferry because it is less expensive, and, because the jetfoils will not run in high seas, the ferries are more dependable for catching a train out of Kagoshima.

The Night train nobi-nobi seats are at no additional charge to JR Pass holders. "Seats" is a little bit of a stretch, in that they actually are carpeted open berths. If you want a private berth, with an actual door, that will cost extra.

I have little to go on for how long to stay on Yakushima Island. I did the Kotsu bus tour, and, since I got the wrong Jetfoil on the second day, only did the "A" tour. I would still recommend this, because it gets you to several places, and takes care of your luggage.

I pulled out my book "Yakushima, A Yakumonkey Guide". After looking at it, I am going to make a guess as to what I would want to do.

I would stay three nights.

I would also stay the night in Kagoshima before going to Yakushima. I would probably spend the afternoon at the port area, and possibly take a ferry over to Sakurajima.

I would take 7:45 AM Jetfoil to Yakushima. I would still try to get the Kotsu Sightseeing tour "A" for the first day. I would rent a car for the second and third day, and tackle the Arakawa and Yodogawa trails. Both can be traversed in one day, and I would go back to the hotel each night. On the final day, I would take the Kotsu Sightseeing Bus tour "B" and have it dump me off at Anbo Port, for the 1:30 PM Jetfoil back.

I am not you, and I would then proceed to Miyazaki, which is not far away. I am also not trying to catch a night train in Okayama. If you follow my plan, I would make sure you have an extra day on your JR Pass, in case things do not go as planned and you get stranded.

I would rather pay the higher cost for a faster Jetfoil. This is me, and I am making my choices.

I am planning on backpacking around Japan, but my backpack is going to have clothes and toiletries in it. I do not plan to take a sleeping bag, or a kitchen to prepare food on the trail. I plan to sleep in hotels and ryokans, and eat at food stalls and resteraunts.

I also would not spend a night in one of the mountain huts, until I had hiked the basic trails. I would then go home with the knowledge of "Whoa, THAT's what they mean when they say the trail is moderate", so that I could plan the next trip.

This is my best guess as to what to do. You will exceed my knowledge of Yakushima Island when you return from your trip.

Thanks again ebay! I'll take all this into consideration when I meet with my friend this weekend. I think we have enough info now to finally get this thing planned once and for all.

checking out sakurajima and staying the night is a great idea. There is an early morning car ferry that's cheaper than the jetfoil, so we might take that. We'll check out the times to make sure it lines up with trains wherever we have to go.

I'll look into the bus thing, and 3 nights is what I was leaning toward for sure!

Thanks again, you've been an amazing help. If we have any other concerns, I'll bring it up here for sure.

I just want you to understand that the Jetfoils I picked were done so that they dovetail with the Kotsu sightseeing bus. You can select any ferry or jetfoil you want. The Overnight Ferry also works for the "A" tour, but you would have to give up the sightseeing bus "B" tour on the final day.

The 7:45 Jetfoil will attive at Miyanora Post at 9:45 AM, and the sightseeing bus arrives to pick up passengers for the "A" tour at 10:00 AM.

The Kotsu sightseeing "B" tour has a stop at the Anbo Port at 1:10 PM, and the Jetfoil departs at 1:30 PM.

You should be able to stop by the tourism desk at Kagoshima-Chuo station and reserve seats on the Sightseeing bus and the Jetfoil, the day before you depart for Yakushima Island. This is another good reason to get to Kagoshima the day before you go.

OOOH right, I get it it now. Cool. I'll do just that. Thank you!