8D7N Kyushu Itinerary

Hello,
I'm planning a 8D7N Kyushu trip this November. This is my planned route.

Day 1(Fukuoka): Arrive Fukuoka (8am) -- Hotel to deposit luggage -- Tochoji Temple -- Tenjin Underground City

Day 2(Nagasaki): Train to Nagasaki -- Penguin Aquarium -- Walk around city

Day 3(Nagasaki): Hashima Island -- Atomic Bomb Museum -- Peace Park

Day 4(Kumamoto): Train from Nagasaki to Kumamoto -- Kumamoto Castle -- Walk around city

Day 5(Kagoshima): Train from Kumamoto to Kagoshima -- Mt Sakurajima

Day 6(Beppu): Train from Kagoshima to Beppu -- Walk around & enjoy the hotel onsens

Day 7(Fukuoka): Marine World -- Kushida Shrine

Day 8(Fukuoka): Canal City Hakata

Day 9: Flight at 1100hrs

Some questions that I hope can be answered:

1. How does the itinerary look? In terms of travel direction and days spent? Is it too rushed?

2. I'm thinking of utilising the Kyushu 5 day train pass, how best can I utilise it according to my planned route?

3. Any places listed above that I ought to skip? Or places which I missed out but is sort of a must go?

Thanks!

Hi,
Well, some questions arise from what you write, and many days look very slow and languid. Plus you appear to be doing 6 days of travel on a 5 day JR Kyushu Pass, unless on your Day 6 you plan to go from Beppu to Hakata. If not, you could pay the regular fare from Hakata to Nagasaki (4500 yen) and start using the Pass from Nagasaki.
Also its not clear on your interests - so it's hard to make some suggestions. You name some off-the-trail places like Tochoji and the Nagasaki Aquarium - good to see but most don't put those on their itineraries. How much research on what you want to see have you done?
Anyway, some observations:
For Day 1, most hotels don't allow morning check-ins. Some will keep your bags for you though - but did you confirm this with your hotel?
Tochoji is an excellent and nearly unknown place in Fukuoka. You can get a look of it at:
http://youtu.be/hug3tCMvu28
But then you want to see the Tenjin Chikagai, which is almost totally made of women's clothing stores. You can see it at:
http://youtu.be/yQFqmNDTNcc
If you want to buy a new skirt or cute pair of heels, you found a good place. Or try the Tenjin Core Bldg. next to the Chikagai at
http://youtu.be/ujaTbf99uEE
Otherwise, the Chikagai is usually a way to get from one part of Tenjin to another out of the summer sun, winter cold, or red stoplights.
Plus there are a lot more interesting place to see. Have a look at:

http://www.tinyurl.com/see-fukuoka

for lots of good ideas.
Nagasaki is a gem of a city - you list a few good places to go, but if you can, by all means go see Mt. Inasa at night for the spectacular mountaintop night view. Also a frequently missed beautiful temple is Koshibyo, not far from Glover Garden.
http://youtu.be/Mu_JnkVInTU
http://youtu.be/QdWRyHGW3rk
Hashima is a great choice also but remember it'll take up about 3 hours and there are only a few ferries leaving per day. See:
http://www.ngs-kenkanren.com/eng/
http://www.at-nagasaki.jp/foreign/english/
for lots of ideas.
Be sure to try the chanpon and saraudon for lunch or dinner.
Kumamoto is famous for its castle, but don't miss the beautiful Suizenji garden as well; it is one of Japan's finest:
http://youtu.be/K9xyXmU8U1g
http://www.visitkumamoto.com
Mt. Aso is nice too but hard to get to and no guarantee of seeing the volcanic crater if the poison gases are too strong that day.
Kagoshima has its elephant in the room, Sakurajima, but also Senganen Garden, and Shiroyama Park:
http://www.kagoshima-kankou.com/for/
http://youtu.be/LxDmLuq6ssI
http://youtu.be/lpnDK_Wux9Q
Beppu is really a must-see place as well, for its hot springs, Hells Tour, monkey park & aquarium, plus Mt. Tsurumi mountaintop view:
http://www.city.beppu.oita.jp/02kankou/english/01info/02shisetsu/index...
http://youtu.be/K2NNi8MLcXM
http://youtu.be/zepPfkuqhok
http://youtu.be/cBnZneDsKqQ
Your last 2 days are pretty vacant - especially day 8 - you can see Canal City in a couple hours; 3 at the most if you really want to dive into shopping. The above link can give you more ideas.