Kyushu 2 Days

Hi All,

Heading to Japan next fall with friends and we have two days in Kyushu. The first day we will be in Fukuoka. The second day is where we are having a problem. We are planning to see Kumamoto Castle and Suizenji Garden. One of the friends in the group also wants to go to Nagasaki as well. With two days and one night I am not sure we can fit it in. Our group can do a medium pace if pushed.

Is it possible to fit Nagasaki into the schedule?

We will be headed over from Hiroshima to Hakata station in the morning of the first day. The second day we need to be at Hakata station at 6pm to get to Okayama and catch the night train to Tokyo. We will have a JR pass.

You could fit in a few sites of Nagasaki, although it may be faster than what most think of as a medium pace, depending on how much you want to do.
It would help a lot if you could see Fukuoka on your first day and make it over to Kumamoto for the overnight. By bullet train it's only 40 minutes or so. Kumamoto Castle opens at 8:30AM, and Suizenji opens at 7:30AM to the end of October, and 8:30AM from November. If by next fall you mean in Sept/Oct and you start at the very opening time, you could fairly leisurely see the garden in 45 minutes. It is one of Japan's most beautiful gardens:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9xyXmU8U1g
The tram back to Kumamoto Stn is about 30 minutes, then another 15 to the Castle. You could spend an hour there, and it'll take about 2 hours 20-30 minutes to get from Kumamoto to Nagasaki. That would give you perhaps 3 hours; enough to see 3 or 4 places if they're close to each other and without dashing through. It'll take about 2 hours from Nagasaki back to Hakata. There is a bullet train connection to Tokyo if you can catch the 5:44PM train (although no guarantees on the schedule 1 year from now - that has not come out yet). Then you wouldn't have to be shaken about all night on a slower train. As for the sights of Nagasaki; it's up to you. Most rush over to the Peace Park/Museum. But on the other side of the city is Dejima and Glover Garden, plus the beautiful Koshibyo Confucius shrine. You can see a lot of the different places on:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7LcPcmoSg-gbw2yXNLK92siHyNqSNx...
By the way for your first day, Fukuoka has many interesting places as well. The Nanzoin temple is a must-see and only 20 minutes from Hakata Stn by train:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT4VQFmHFyM
Ohori Park and Mazuru Park/Castle Ruins next to it are also popular sights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbdQUjljOyw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=968CH00PboY
There are many other useful previews you can see at:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7LcPcmoSg-j4RLa6iC7ayvBAbOn8-0...
and useful info at:
http://www.thejapanfaq.com/fukpic.html
http://yokanavi.com/access_tourist_eg
Good luck!

You would be stretching it to try both in one day even if you did go to Kumamoto the night of the first day and started early.

If you've already been to the Bomb Museum and Peace Park in Hiroshima, the Nagasaki museum is pretty much the same.

The streetcar from Kumamoto Station to Suizenji goes right past the castle. You don't have to backtrack to the station to get to the castle. You can see the castle park and continue down the line to Suizenji or go to Suizenji first and get off at the castle on the way back toward the station.

If you plan on seeing the castle, the new Honmaru Goten, the Uto Yagura, the Gyobutei, and the Traditional Craft Center across from the Akazuno Gate, as well as Suizenji, you won't have much time for Nagasaki by closing. There is also the Prefectural Art Museum and the Kumamoto City Museum on the grounds of the castle. Walking between them takes some time as it's a large park.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4501.html

Just across the river from the castle is the main downtown shopping arcade that can take more of your time.

In going from Kumamoto to Nagasaki by train, you're backtracking back to Shin-Tosu, almost all the way back to Fukuoka. There you get a connection on a non-Shinkansen train for Nagasaki. In Nagasaki, you need to take the streetcar north to the bomb museum or south to Dejima and Glover Gardens. You would be pushing it to get to both by closing time. Trying to get that long ride back to Hakata by 6 would be pushing it further. I wouldn't recommend it.