Cheapest way to travel between these cities

I live in Kanazawa and want to go to some places in Kyushu this April / May that I missed last year. I'm a resident so I can't get a JR pass. What is the cheapest way to travel between these cities, and the most logical order to do it in? I assume I will have to get the highway bus to Osaka or Tokyo and fly to Kyushu using a budget airline.

I read that Iyotetsu Bus goes between some of these cities, but the English website only seems to have local timetables.

Also, the main reason I want to go to Yamaguchi is because I love the haiki poet Taneda Santoka. But I can't find much information about things related to him in this area, except for a statue and a tiny museum. I emailed the tourism center ages ago but they never replied. Does anyone know if there are more attractions related to Taneda Santoka in Yamaguchi that I can visit? If it's just a statue then there's not much point going there.

Kanazawa - Osaka or Tokyo
Osaka or Tokyo - Saga
Saga - Fukuoka
Fukuoka - Yamaguchi
Yamaguchi - Hiroshima
Hiroshima - Ehime (Matsuyama)
Ehime (Matsuyama) - Back to Kanazawa (via Osaka or Tokyo)

I'm sorry I can't help you much, but I would recommend the ferry between Hiroshima and Matsuyama. There are discounts for "overseas visitors" however I don't know whether you will be eligible for this (I could not find the exact conditions).

If the weather is nice, the views are quite good ! Here is the website :
http://setonaikaikisen.co.jp/language/en/index.php

I also cannot help you either, but if you are allowed to fly from Komatsu to Fukuoka or Hiroshima at an inexpensive cost then that will do, same from Matsuyama to Osaka. I am not sure as well which one will with flying or train ride will be cheaper. Bus ride from Kanazawa to Osaka to Hiroshima or Fukuoka then back from Matsuyama to Osaka to Kanazawa will do but will be taxing.

If you adept in kanji, have you checked if there are discount tickets in let's say JR Kyushu or JR Odekake (all Japanese) website? Honestly saying, the discount tickets or pass as published for tourists on English website is just the tip of the iceberg or not even a tenth compared to the JR Japanese website. Maybe you can inquire to your nearest JR ticket office regarding discount tickets.

The destinations can be followed in one straight line. Highway bus would probably be cheapest.

I'd probably highway bus to Osaka.
Something to Matsuyama.
Ferry to Hiroshima.
Bus to Yamaguchi.
Bus to Fukuoka.
Bus to Saga.

Considering the the locations and decreased public transport options in the west you will be traveling through compared to the east. You might be served better off hiring a car from Hiroshima onwards. Then you only need to worry about public transport Hiroshima to Kanazawa. Which will have a lot more options.

Just yourself or more people traveling?

I mostly agree with Hakata, but would change a couple things:

- Highway bus to Osaka
- Highway bus to Matsuyama
- Ferry to Hiroshima ― Some are very expensive but I think there’s one for around 3000 yen http://setonaikaikisen.co.jp/ which is the cheapest. Alternatively you could take a local bus to Onomichi and swap to local train there or take a highway bus the full journey. For what it’s worth, the train journey between Mihara and Hiroshima along the Sanyo Line is my favourite route in the whole of Japan, I was completely blown away by how beautiful it was. Of course it was raining and that helped a lot for the ambience, but I think it will look great on sunny days too.
- Bus to Yamaguchi
- Local train to Fukuoka ― You could take the train until Shimonoseki and walk through the underground tunnel onto Kyushu, that’s a bit of sightseeing added in!
- Local train to Saga ― Fukuoka and Saga are pretty close, after all.

I often take local trains around Japan, even if I do qualify for the JR Pass, because the shinkansen is way too expensive for me. Honestly I think it’s a great way to move around. Willer Express’ Bus Pass should cover the most expensive trips: http://willerexpress.com/st/3/en/pc/buspass/ and if you manage to get a night bus, maybe from Osaka to Matsuyama, that would save you paying for a hotel for the night.

About Taneda Santoka, his tomb is at Gokokuji (Hofu City, look up 種田山頭火墓所 護国寺寺) and the Sake Brewery he worked at is also in Yamaguchi 金光酒造（株).

Thanks everyone for your helpful information! I know some kanji but not enough to be able to read entire websites without help. It's a shame that the options on the English versions of the bus website are so limited compared to the Japanese ones. There is a JR bus office in my city - does anyone know if the bus companies that go between these cities include JR? Otherwise I will find a friend to help me with it. I've booked tickets on Japanese websites before, but sometimes I make mistakes and click on the wrong thing. Once I accidentally cancelled my booking, haha!

I'm going alone and cannot drive a car. The general consensus here seems to be that as long as I can get to a major city in the south, the cost of travelling between cities will be cheap if I stick to buses / ferries.

Also thank you very much FancyLampshade for the leads re: Taneda Santoka. I didn't know about these places and they are of great significance to me. I will definitely be adding these places to my itinerary!

Also FancyLampshade, do you know if his tomb will say his pen name, 種田 山頭火, or his birth name? What was his birth name?

I like FancyLampshade prefer trains also. The windows are bigger, there normally aren't any noise fences blocking views etc.

While highway buses will get you from A to B fairly quickly with minimal stops or cost. Trains (especially local ones) snake through the countryside at a slower rate. And you have the option to jump off at any time you like, if you see something you like out the window.

I speak no Japanese whatsoever, other than hiragana and katakana, so I understand your problems!
JR does have some long distance buses, however they mostly focus on inner-city buses, and the long distance ones tend to be more expensive than other companies that exist. WillerExpress tends to be the cheapest, however I usually just google the trip I want to do and compare different pages and prices that appear there. Willer Express does have reservation and payments in English.

According to wikipedia his birth name was Taneda Shōichi. The tomb apparently has his pen name though: http://kajipon.sakura.ne.jp/kt/santoka11.jpg

Local trains and buses tend to have similar prices, however I prefer trains since there are usually more of them every day/hour and so are more flexible, I don't have to worry about reservations either and it's much easier to find the train station than the bus stop.

From Osaka to Saga, there is a bus. It takes you to Takeo Onsen Station which is a popular onsen town in Saga Prefecture. The station is along the same line as Saga Station, though, if that is your destination in Saga, so you can take a train from there to Saga Station. The bus is the Yutaka Liner and it is bound for Nagasaki (Huis Ten Bosch, I think).

Kanazawa to Osaka: http://www.hokutetsu.co.jp/highway-bus/osaka
Osaka to Takeo Onsen: http://www.hokutetsu.co.jp/highway-bus/osaka

Alternatively, Kanazawa to Narita with Willer and Narita to Saga with Spring. http://jp.ch.com/

Saga to Fukuoka: http://www.nishitetsu.jp/bus/highwaybus/rosen/wakakusu.html
Fukuoka to Yamaguchi: http://www.jrkbus.co.jp/kosoku_yama/kosoku_yama.html
Yamaguchi to Hiroshima: http://www.bochobus.co.jp/toshikan/yuda.htm
Matsuyama to Osaka: http://www.iyotetsu.co.jp/bus/kousoku/osaka.html

There is no direct bus between Hiroshima and Matsuyama, so a transfer is required, for example at Imabari, Shin-Onomichi, or Fukuyama.