kyushu driving suggestions december

Hi everyone,

Im trying to plan a road trip in December around Kyushu covering Beppu, Mt Aso, Takachiho Gorge, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, Nagasaki and ending in Fukuoka.

Arriving at Osaka on the 15th and will head down to Fukuoka the next day where we will spend the night, before starting our trip on the 17th.

So far the draft itinerary is as follows:

16th - arrive Fukuoka
17th - Fukuoka to Beppu
18th - Beppu
19th - Beppu to Mt Aso
20th - Mt Aso to Miyazaki stopping at Takachiho (pushing it?)
21st - Miyazaki to Kagoshima
22nd - Kagoshima
23rd - Kagoshima to Nagasaki
24th - Nagasaki
25th - Nagasaki to Fukuoka
26th - Fukuoka fly to Chitose

Has anyone done a similar route before? Im not too sure about only spending a night in Miyazaki and was thinking of taking the day out of Beppu (18th) and adding that day to Miyazaki... thoughts? Or even skipping Miyazaki and using that time elsewhere.

Thanks in advance.

For me, it would be too much driving. Especially from Aso to Miyazaki and from Kagoshima to Nagasaki. I would consider flying out of Kagoshima (via Tokyo or Osaka to Sapporo) to save the time consuming trip back north.

The route looks OK but the main concern is time distribution. We did a similar clock-wise loop of Kyushu but we had one more week than you, hence we could take in a bit more.

Indeed you can cut short your stay in Beppu. Though the Hells in Beppu are worth a visit but for overnight stay we prefer Yufuin.

Miyazaki itself may not have a lot to offer but the drive further south along the Nichinan Coast is highly recommended. We love it so that we went there twice.

While in Kagoshima don't miss a side trip to Sakurajima.

Kagoshima to Nagasaki is indeed a LONG drive but there are interesting and worthwhile destinations along the way such as the Kirishima, Ebino-Kogen, Kumamoto, Shimabara and Unzen. Just that as mentioned the main concern is TIME.

Thanks guys, we've decided to cut out southern Kyushu i.e. Miyazaki and Kagoshima.

So the revised plan is as follows:

15th Dec - Arrive Osaka
16th Dec - Fly to Nagasaki
17th Dec - Nagasaki
18th Dec - Head to Kumamoto/Aso
19th Dec - Takachiho
20th Dec - Beppu stay in Yufuin
21st Dec - Head to Fukuoka
22nd Dec - Fukuoka
23rd Dec - Fukuoka to Osaka to Chitose

Now im thinking of cutting a day out of Beppu and spending the additional time in either Nagasaki or Fukuoka or if the plan sounds good I'm happy to stick with it. Thoughts?

The route looks fine.

Time allowed, after Nagasaki go to Unzen and Shimabara before taking the ferry to Kumamoto.

Note that if you pick it up in Nagasaki and return in Fukuoka, there will be an additional drop-off charge for the rental car.

Thanks William, we've considered either that option or to go check out the Saga area.

Im leaning towards a brief day trip around the Shimabara area though to cut out the driving time of going the other route.