Day trip ideas from Fukuoka

Hi,

We are going to be in Fukuoka for 4 days. I'm planning to do a day trip to Nagasaki and another day trip to Kagoshima. Could you give me some suggestions on what to do for the other two days? We will have a JR pass and not are not keen on renting a car. Thanks!

Beppu
Kita-Kyushu/Mojiko
Yufuin

Hakata14 has some good suggestions:

Huis Ten Bosch (theme park)
Arita (pottery)
Kumamoto (gardens)
Iwakuni
Hiroshima and Miyajima Island.
I also though Hagi was pretty nice place to visit, and off the beaten path.

I have also wanted to go to Yanagawa for a canal tour. The first link also has information about a train/canal ride/meal from Fukuoka. The train ride is the privately owned Nishitetsu Line, and your JR pass will not cover it.

http://www.yanagawakk.co.jp/index_e.html
https://www.ana-cooljapan.com/destinations/fukuoka/yanagawarivercruisi...

If you are going around Golden week, see the Wisteria Tunnel at Wawachi Fuji Gardens.

http://twistedsifter.com/2013/02/wisteria-flower-tunnel-kawachi-fuji-g...

I hope this helps.

It's a great help thank you very much!

Karatsu is nice and the train ride there is very good.

check out Nagasaki Bio Park. It is probably easier to get there from Fukuoka than Nagasaki unless you are driving. It is a lot of fun.

For the best places in Fukuoka City, have a look at:
http://www.thejapanfaq.com/fukpic.html

You should definitely not miss the Nanzoin Temple - one of the best in Japan and unknown to many. It's only about 20 minutes by train outside the city.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT4VQFmHFyM

There is also Tochoji, with Japan's largest wooden Buddha.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hug3tCMvu28

You can do Nagasaki as a day trip, with a very early morning start. Still, that means 4 hours on the train round trip. Get a trolley day pass to go all over for a cheap price. Don't miss the Peace Park, Dejima, Glover Garden and Koshibyo Shrine.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7LcPcmoSg-gbw2yXNLK92siHyNqSNx...
Gunkanjima would be great too, but it would take up 3 full hours.

There are some good places not too far away as well - go to Yanagawa and ride the canal boats, or in Kurume there is the Naritasan Jibo Kannon Temple - almost totally bypassed which is a shame.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1SBtmqXteE

In Kitakyushu you can walk under the sea to Yamaguchi,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y4K6erVyvA
as well as see Sarakurayama, which has one of the finest city views in Japan - again, unknown to the masses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl1pCW9Ibbk

Also: Nanzoin. Not really a day trip since it's only 20 minutes from Hakata Station, but lots of people don't know about it and the giant Buddha there.

Wow! Thank you so much for these great ideas. Really helpful and much appreciated.

Yanagawa, Karatsu, Yoshinogari, and Shimonoseki/Kitakyushu are all decent options, but if you want to make the most of your pass, you'll want to go further out.

Some places like Hagi (historic district and pottery), Tsuwano (Christian persecution site, historic district), Okayama (top garden, cycling district), Miyazaki and Takachiho (sites related to the ancient Kojiki; texts of Japan's origins), Beppu (famous onsen town), etc.

Respectfully, I'd say some of those places just aren't practical as a day trip - from Hakata to Hagi the best time with a pass is nearly 3½ hours on trains one way, Tsuwano is 2¾ hours one way with a morning departure, Okayama is much better at about 2 hrs one way, but if the OP is coming in from Honshu it's basically backtracking which is not efficient.
To Miyazaki is at least 4¼ hours one way and while an overnight trip might make sense, a day trip would not.
Beppu or Yufuin would be more practical, or better yet, maybe an overnight in Kurokawa would be nice, if the OP is willing to take the bus from Fukuoka or Hita.

Thank you all for your ideas - you've been very kind and helpful. Based on your feedback, we're now thinking of extending our stay by a day or two, and doing an overnight in Nagasaki and another in Kagoshima so that we can make the most of both areas.

Late to this but just to stick my oar in. I thoroughly enjoyed Yoshinogari historical park. That & Nagasaki are the reasons I was in Fukuoka to start with. I will be returning to Nagasaki as it is wonderful. I particularly liked the Glover garden. Nearer to Fukuoka I visited Dazaifu as well which I would also recommend. The only downside was that I was there Silver week last year & Dazaifu in particular was full of rude Chinese tour parties. The Kyushu national museum at Dazaifu was an unexpected delight, but then I am fascinated by the Jomon & Yayoi periods. www.kyuhaku.com

we're now thinking of extending our stay by a day or two

Definitely a good idea. (^_^)

Stan Norrell mentioned a couple of my favourite places, so here's another vote for them. Yoshinogari is absolutely fantastic, although an interest in early Japanese history would help in that regard.

https://withinstrikingdistance.wordpress.com/2016/01/24/field-report-y...

Dazaifu's also worth a few hours, and is very easily done as a day trip from nearby Fukuoka.

https://withinstrikingdistance.wordpress.com/tag/dazaifu/

Nagasaki ... mmm, I could spend a full week there alone. I wouldn't think of it as a day trip destination, but as a sightseeing base in its own right. Been there twice and will probably return in the future. Too many sights to individually list down, but there's more on that here:

https://withinstrikingdistance.wordpress.com/tag/nagasaki/

I haven't been to southern Kyūshū myself, but these accounts of my holidays in the northern area might give you a few ideas:

https://withinstrikingdistance.wordpress.com/tag/kyushu/

Cheers.

My head is spinning with all these wonderful possibilities! Before arriving in Kyushu, we have 2 nights booked in Kobe (to look around the city and maybe sample some Kobe beef).

I'm now thinking of dropping our stop in Kobe and extending our stay in Kyushu by 2 nights. We could then have a 2 or 3 night stay in Nagasaki instead of a day trip and see Yoshinogari and a few other sights around Fukuoka. What do you think? Has anyone been to both destinations and able to compare?

Your site is great Diego!

I've been to both Nagasaki and Fukuoka. Spent one night and 3/4 of a day in Nagasaki, and didn't feel like it was enough! I'd go back for at least two full days next time. While in Fukuoka I spent two nights and 1.5 days; I didn't see much of Fukuoka itself, but visited Nanzoin (worth a visit) and did a day trip to Yufuin (loved it). I'd also go back to Fukuoka for a longer stretch.

I'd split your time evenly between the two, or spend slightly longer in Fukuoka as it has better transport connections.

And have you been to Kobe? I was thinking of skipping it this trip in favour of Nagasaki. What do you think?

I stayed in Kobe for a few days as a base for visiting Himeji among other places and it's nice but I would place Nagasaki way above it.

Great. I've re-arranged my itinerary and hotel bookings to give me 4 nights in Fukuoka (with day trips to locations suggested) and 2 nights in Nagasaki. I can't thank you all enough for your wonderful advice. Cheers!

Sounds awesome!