Driving Costs in Kyushu

Hi,

We would like to rent a car and drive along this route :

Fukuoka (Hakata) to Yufuin to Beppu to Kurogawa to Mount Aso to Takachiho gorge to Kumamoto to Fukuoka (Hakata)

Could you please advise the distance from point to point indicated above ?

What is the tolling charge for each point of exit ? The name of the expressway ?
Should we take the expressway or normal road ?

What will be the petrol cost for the total distance travel on a 1500cc or 2000cc car ?

Please advise the parking charge at each site ?


Alternatively, we are considering a 3 days JR pass and a 5 days JR pass.

Can all the places be accessed by the JR pass ?

Will driving or JR pass be more economical in my propose route ?

Thank you.
Saggie

Did a similar route a couple of years ago - very memorable! Our way was to take the Scenic Train up to Yufuin and base ourselves there at the great Country Road Hostel. We rented a little Micra and drove to Mt.Aso , Takachiho (most of the way,a landslide had blocked the road!) etc. in that beautiful area. Then we trained down to Beppu and ferried across to Shikoku.
Don't remember any tolls this way. Petrol cost was insignificant and the freedom wonderful!

Could you please advise the distance from point to point indicated above ?

The following tool let's you look up driving distances (use the right click to select starting and end points):
http://maps.google.com/?ll=32.593106,131.017456&spn=3.74363,4.938354&h...

What is the tolling charge for each point of exit ? The name of the expressway ?

From Fukuoka take the Kyushu and Oita Expressways and get off at Yufuin. The regular toll is about 3650 yen:
http://www.driveplaza.com/dp/SearchTop

Only if you have a lot of time at your disposal I would consider using regular roads instead.

From Yufuin to Kumamoto, it is all by regular roads. But from Kumamoto back to Fukuoka I recommend expressways (about 3400 yen).

What will be the petrol cost for the total distance travel on a 1500cc or 2000cc car ?

A very rough guess would be 3000 yen.

Please advise the parking charge at each site ?

It is free in most of the places except in the cities. Central Fukuoka, in particular, can be expensive. Kumamoto somewhat. A few hundred yen for a short stop. 1000-1500 yen for overnight stop (some hotels may provide free parking). In the other cities it should be cheaper or free. Rarely you might get across a tourist site that charges 200-500 yen.

Can all the places be accessed by the JR pass ?

Takachiho, Kurokawa and the summit of Mount Aso are not accessible by JR. For the particular route, I think that the car is a good option.

Will driving or JR pass be more economical in my propose route ?

The most essential piece of information in a question like this is how many people will be traveling. Please try to make the calculation. I have the feeling that the car will be cheaper for a group of three or more. Possibly even for a group of two. It also depends a lot on how many days you will be spending to complete the route, as the car rental fee will be the biggest cost factor.

Dear Tommmo,

Thank you for your info.

Is landslide common in those areas ?

Thank you.
Saggie

No, landslides that affect transportation routes are uncommon across Japan.

Dear Uji,

Thank you for your info.

How much more time is required for driving on regular roads as compared to expressway ?

There are 4 of us and we will be covering the route over 6 days. In this case will the petrol cost be much more than 3000 Yen ?

Thank you.

Rgds
Saggie

To me it is much more enjoyable to drive not on toll roads, if I had time. I have driven to/from Kurume, Fukuoka to Yufuin & Aso area.
It is a slow going~50km/hr.max. But there are many onsen towns, tiny villages, rapids, farms, bamboo forests, etc. that the view from elevated toll road misses.
But for your limited time available, you might find enough stopping places between Yufuin, Aso, Takachiho area as you will be on regular mountainous winding scenic roads.

How much more time is required for driving on regular roads as compared to expressway ?

Usually about 50 to 100 % more time, but it depends on the route. The following website in Japanese gives travel times quite accurately for both expressways and tollfree roads:
http://drive.yahoo.co.jp/route/search

There are 4 of us and we will be covering the route over 6 days. In this case will the petrol cost be much more than 3000 Yen ?

If you drive just the above mentioned distance, petrol should not cost more than 5000 yen, which is very little compared to the car rental fee, which will be around 40,000 yen for under 120 hours or around 50,000 for under 144 hours for a small car.

Dear all,

Thank you so much for sharing the useful information .

I am doing up the detail planning for the driving trip.

I would like to share with all when it is done.

Rgds

Hi Saggie, I'll be doing a similar trip in Nov 12. Could you please share your detailed plans with me?

Will driving or JR pass be more economical in my propose route ?

Note that streets are often narrow esp at corners and frequently lanes shared with bicycles.

Hi Saggie,
Am interested in your itinerary as well.Is it possble for you to share your itinerary and advise on the driving route, cost, etc. Thanks.

Hi Saggie,
I'm interested in your itinerary, could you please send me the travel route and cost. Thank you.

Jid Jad