Recommendation Kyushu

Hi everyone,

I am planning a three week trip to Japan in early December. I'm not sure at this stage what airport in Kyushu I should fly to make the trip more practical. I'd like to visit Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Mt Aso, Oita, Nagasaki and Fukuoka. I don't know how many days I'd need and where the best place to stay is as a base. Would 5 or 6 nights be enough?After Kyushu, we want to go to Hiroshima by Shinkansen and stop at different cities along the way and end our trip in Tokyo.
Would it make more sense to fly to Kagoshima airport and travel to the above places along the way and finish in Fukuoka before heading to Hiroshima?
Should I buy a Kyushu 5 day Rail Pass or use the normal JR pass in this case?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Oita, Nagasaki or Kagoshima. It doesn't matter which one, as you'll travel through Fukuoka and/or Kokura to exit Kyushu onto futher travels.

Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Fukuoka, Oita, onto Honshu etc
Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Kagoshima, Fukuoka, Oita, onto Honshu etc
Oita, Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Kagoshima, Nagasaki, onto Honshu etc

They all have the same combined travel time. It is just up to you really where you can access Kyushu. So maybe let airplane ticket prices and/or time spent at each location decide where you enter Kyushu.

Even Kumamoto would work, as you can day trip to both Asosan and Kagoshima etc.

If you are traveling further than Kyushu, then a nationwide JR pass would be better than a Kyushu 3/5 day passes.

Thank you for your response, Hakata.

I�fm thinking of this order. Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Fukuoka, Oita, onto Honshu etc.

Is it more efficient to stay in Kagoshima for two nights, Kumamoto for two nights to go to Mt ASO for the day and go to Nagasaki for the day? On the last two nights before heading to Hiroshima, would it be better to stay in Hakata for sightseeing and go to Yufuin for a day trip? Is It more practical to travel from Hakata to Hiroshima using JR pass? Can you please recommend places we should visit while in Kyushu? By the way, we have been to Kurokawa Onsen before.

Many thanks

Pandy

It really depends on what/how you wanna travel and use hotels. And what you wanna see at each city, that determines how many nights you stay. So I'd check this website for places you wanna visit and locations in those cities for what interest you.

Yufuin isn't really a day trip from Fukuoka currently due to a rail bridge destroyed in a typhoon last year. So to get to Yufuin by train, you have to go via Beppu/Oita, making it just slightly too long of a journey for a day trip.

this is what i would do or similar... (not sure of your arrival time or jetlag?)

Day 1 - arr Kagoshima
Day 2 - Daytrip Sakurajima
Day 3 - Kagoshima city + surrounds sightseeing, late travel to Kumamoto
Day 4 - Kumamoto city + surround sightseeing
Day 5 - Hire a car, daytrip Asosan + Takamori
Day 6 - Early travel to Nagasaki + Nagasaki sightseeing
Day 7 - Nagasaki sightseeing + late travel to Fukuoka + do night food stalls
Day 8 - Fukuoka sightseeing
Day 9 - Early travel to Beppu, Beppu sightseeing
Day 10 - Daytrip to Yufuin
Day 11 - Early travel to Honshu destination

JR pass starting on day 3 for travel to Kumamoto.

Thank you.
I have recently been looking at flights for a possible return to Kyushu & had found flights to Fukuoka much easier to find. This post has made me realise I had forgotten to look at the domestic budget carriers. I see that for instance (on a random future date) I could fly from Kix to Kagoshima for about £35 with Peach or from Narita to Kagoshima for about £45 on Jetstar. I would say that flying to Kagoshima & working north from there as you suggest is a great idea.
Don't forget that if you stay 2 nights somewhere then you only have 1 full day in a place. I would pick fewer bases & do more excursions. I would probably stay in Kagoshima & Fukuoka and day trip from there stopping at Kumamoto on the journey between them. You will find many posts on this forum where we talk about what we like on Kyushu and the destination guides are very good. Kagoshima was a real surprise to me & is probably my second favourite place in japan.

Certainly great information from both of you @Hakata and Stan. As Hakata mentioned the earthquake in 2016. I have been reading a bit about it in the last half hour and I�fm having a second thought whether we should visit Kumamoto at all as the castle is badly damaged and to visit Mt ASO, the volcanic site is very tricky without a car. We won�ft be driving so we are solely relying on public transport ie: JR pass.
@Stan, it looks like we will be arriving in Kagoshima about 10:30-11am. We haven�ft booked the flight yet as we are in the process of putting the itinerary together. I�fd take your advice to based in two places ie: Kagoshima & Fukuoka (Hakata).

Please let me know what you think of below.

Example itinerary:
Day 1 - arrive Kagoshima+ kagoshima city +surrounds sightseeing
Day 2 - Daytrip Sakurajima
Day 3 - travel to Fukuoka and stay near Hakata Station. Fukuoka sightseeing and do night food stalls as Hakata suggested. I love Japanese food.
Day 4- Daytrip to Nagasaki
Day 5- Daytrip to Yufuin
Day 6- still open whether to do Kumamoto re: earthquake damaged. If not, our next destination is Hiroshima.

Thanks for your help

Pandy

Yufuin as I said before isn't really a day trip from Hakata due to going the low way around. It is almost a 4 hour trip one way.

It is however a 90-100 minute highway exp bus from Hakata for 2880 yen.

So "IF" are 100% wanting to make a trip to Yufuin, then I'd suggest flying into Fukuoka...

Day 1 - ARR Fukuoka
Day 2 - Fukuoka sightseeing
Day 3 - Yufuin daytrip
Day 4 - Nagasaki daytrip (start JR pass)
Day 5 - Kagoshima daytrip (includes Sakurajima)
Day 6 - Fukuoka surrounds sightseeing + late travel to Hiroshima
-or-
Day 5 - Early travel to Kagoshima + Kagoshima sightseeing
Day 6 - Sakurajima + late travel to Hiroshima

This allows you do start you JR pass as late as possibe as you wont need it day one (using subway), day two (using subway) and day three (using hwy bus).

Sorry. Almost 4 hours one way due to "trains" going the long way around (via Oita) to Yufuin as the more direct train line near Hita Station is currently closed due to flooding from a typhoon destroying a bridge.

?why not drive for some of the trip?
Aso, Yufuin and Beppu link together nicely when driving but are a bit of a pain by public transport

Thanks again Hakata. Wow! almost 4 hours one way 😲 Hmmm.. I might have to rethink again if I want to do that just for the day. What a shame to miss out two recommended places like Yufuin and Kumamoto due natural disasters. As we won�ft be travelling until around the 1st December. Do you know which website I could check for further updates about the train transportation from Hakata to Yufuin? I might check in about 4 months time to see if they are likely to be fixed by November also.

@Wintet. I�fm not a confident driver when it�fs out of my comfort zone, hence I don�ft want to drive. My husband doesn�ft drive at all.

Dazaifu near Fukuoka is well worth a visit especially if you visit the museum as well. https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4850.html

The JR Kyushu website has all the details in English regards line closures.

What is wrong with the 90 minute bus option? The fastest train option (when they were available) using the Yufu Express or Yufuin no Mori was around 120 minutes.

If you are desperate to do Yufuin by train only. Then I'd probably combine it with Beppu and do an overnighter at Yufuin. So leaving Hakata early to go to Yufin on the first day, then on the second day, visit Beppu on the way through to Hiroshima.

This is the current operating info for example. Could change between now and December. But it will give you an idea.

http://www.jrkyushu.co.jp/english/opinfo/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2018/02...

Yes, I was thinking of staying the night in Yufuin. Thanks.

The less backtracking you do and wasting time, the better and more efficient your travel will be. So starting at Kagoshima and working your way northwards like you suggested would be a good plan. It depends also on where you are coming from before then. If your main international flights are to Tokyo or KIX, then something like the ANA Experience Japan Fare might be one cheap way to get down there, or connecting domestic flights are often cheap add-ons as part of your international ticket.
http://ana.ms/20Xtf8t
The LCCs mentioned above are another good option, although their cheaper fares often require more flexibility in your schedule.

It would sure help also if you gave more info on your interests.

For Aso, if you are up to driving, a rental car is an excellent way to get around. There are some good regional places like the Daikanbo Lookout and Kuju Flower Park that are very worthwhile but really need a car.
Unless you really have your heart set on Yufuin, you might consider Beppu instead. From Hakata it takes as little as 90 minutes and there is overall more to see and do, like the Hells Tour, nearby Takasakiyama Money Park/Aquarium, and other sights.
http://bit.ly/2pZ9opz
With Kumamoto Castle severely damaged there is a lot less reason to spend a lot of time there. The Suizenji Garden is still there and very nice though.
http://bit.ly/2HopvoC

Nagasaki is the jewel of Kyushu though and its wide variety of history and cultures is only matched by its great food - be sure to try the chanpon and saraudon for lunch or dinner while there.
http://bit.ly/2ob4u8i

Seeing Fukuoka is well worth some time as well. The Nanzoin Temple is one of Japan's finest, yet unknown to most. There are some very nice traditional gardens as well, like Rakusuien, Yusentei and at Ohori Park. Some people keep repeating there is not much in Fukuoka, but that's mostly because they just don't know what is there.
http://www.thejapanfaq.com/fukpic.html
http://bit.ly/1KAm8cU

You also mentioned sights along the way to Hiroshima - there are some very good ones also. But I recommend sticking close to the Sanyo side and the bullet train line - the Sanin side can be extremely slow and inconvenient to tour. The Akiyoshido Cave is Japan's finest, and walking through huge caverns and an underground river rushing past you in something you won't forget. Iwakuni is also a very nice stop for its bridge and castle. Plus nobody has mentioned Miyajima which is one of Japan's most famous places.
http://bit.ly/2CgIvaR
https://goo.gl/fAz4ax

If you like, there is also the Yamato museum in Kure, as well as Okunoshima (Bunny Island) where you can get mobbed by rabbits.

Hi Ken,

Thank you for long post. You have definitely given me some useful information. We are arriving from Tokyo airport and have a connecting flight JAL to Kagoshima.
Unfortunately, I won�ft be driving as mentioned earlier.☹
The Suizenji Garden Looks very nice, but we have seen the top three gardens in Japan ie: the one in Kanazawa, the Rock garden in Kyoto and we saw Adachi Museum of Art just two and a half months ago.
I will definitely take your food suggestion when in Nagasaki. Sounds good. Yum yum.

Regarding Miyajima, we have been there twice and stayed one night in a small family run ryokan. That was the heightlight of our trip. I am going there again this month actually. I�fm planning Kyushu for December trip and most likely going to go to Miyajima again as my son hasn�ft been to Japan before so I have to take him to places I�fve visited before.

Thank you all. You have been very helpful.

Well that little bit of add on info changes the game a lot.

If you are attempting to see multiple locations between Hakata and Tokyo along the way. You may not need to fly into Kagoshima unless you are in a rush. And you may be able to add in more locations.

Flying to Kagoshima saves you about 4 hours versus shinkansen. Tokyo to Kagoshima-Chuo = 8.0 hours. Flight = 60 mins check in + 120 mins flight + 30 mins collect bag + 30 mins airport shuttle to Kagoshima-Chuo

One of my previous trips I flew Gold Coast to Narita, (the only option for direct flight). Went to Kyoto the next day. 4 days kyoto, then to Fukuoka/Kagoshima 6 days. Then Hiroshima 2 days, then Tokyo 6 days. you could do something similar maybe?

---

Anyways, to throw a spanner in the works. I tend to find Kyushu a better place to visit in the warmer months of the year. You don't wanna be there in typhoon season obviously, but since it has some lovely beaches, visit when it is around 25 degrees versus around 10 degrees is better in my opinion.

Hi Ken,

Thank you for long post. You have definitely given me some useful information. We are arriving from Tokyo airport and have a connecting flight JAL to Kagoshima.
Unfortunately, I won�ft be driving as mentioned earlier.☹
The Suizenji Garden Looks very nice, but we have seen the top three gardens in Japan ie: the one in Kanazawa, the Rock garden in Kyoto and we saw Adachi Museum of Art just two and a half months ago.
I will definitely take your food suggestion when in Nagasaki. Sounds good. Yum yum.

Regarding Miyajima, we have been there twice and stayed one night in a small family run ryokan. That was the heightlight of our trip. I am going there again this month actually. I�fm planning Kyushu for December trip and most likely going to go to Miyajima again as my son hasn�ft been to Japan before so I have to take him to places I�fve visited before.

Thank you all. You have been very helpful.

@Hakata,
We�fll be flying Qantas from Sydney to Tokyo which arrives about 5 am from memory. The JAL connecting flight works out fine. I want to start from south so that we can work our way up and take a flight from Tokyo to Bangkok. Our recent trip in December-January we landed at Kansai, Osaka very early in the morning. We then got the train to Matsue and stayed 3 nights, then we went back to Osaka for 4 nights. Didn�ft do anything on New Year�fs Eve as I came down with a cold, but worse of all I had sinus issues which lasted on and off for the whol trip. I think I spent most time in the chemist lol. Anyway, we went to Takayama and spent the night in Ohkuhida and went to Shinhotaka Ropeway. We then stayed in Nagano for 2 nights and visited the snow 🐵 monkeys. I really enjoyed that. After Nagano we travelled 5 hours and spent one night in Nyuto onsen, Akita Prefecture. It was just beautiful there. The whole place covered in snow. And we spent the last three nights in Tokyo.

I�fm going back to Japan on the 19th this month. My sisters have been to Hokkaido many times, but one of them hasn�ft been to other parts of Japan. I�fm pretty much going to go back to some of the places where I�fve just been. It will be a nice sisters trip. Re: Kyushu. I went to Kurokawa Onsen in 2012 , haven�ft been to Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Fufuin, Kagoshima etc., hence I�fd like to visit these places. The only time my husband and I can go together is December, when he can take leave.