Kyushu Shinkansen and JR Pass

Hello!

I read Japan Guide's detailed article on Kyushu Shinkansen here: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2018_kyushu.html

It mentioned that JR Pass cannot be used for Mizuho but no mention on JR Pass for Sakura and Tsubame. I'd like to ask if JR Pass can be used for Kyushu Shinkansen lines as long as the train is either Sakura or Tsubame. I am planning to visit different cities in Kyushu but found out that Kagoshima - Kumamoto (one-way) and Kumamoto - Nagasaki (one-way) are serviced by Kyushu Shinkansen.

I'd like to ask if JR Pass can be used for Kyushu Shinkansen lines as long as the train is either Sakura or Tsubame.

Yes, you can use Sakura and Tsubame with the JR pass.

I am planning to visit different cities in Kyushu but found out that Kagoshima - Kumamoto (one-way) and Kumamoto - Nagasaki (one-way) are serviced by Kyushu Shinkansen.

Kyushu Shinkansen at this time is from Hakata to Kagoshima-chuo where Kumamoto is in between. It does not run to Nagasaki. You can take JR's express train (slower than Shinkansen) to go from Kumamoto to Nagasaki (Kumamoto to Shin-Tosu by Shinkansen, and transfer to express train to Nagasaki.

@frog1954 thank you very much for the answer! On the suggested to-do for Kumamoto-Nagasaki route, are the JR trains to be taken still covered by the JR Pass? Planning to buy a 7-day JR Pass to cover the following routes:
Hakata - Hiroshima (round trip)
Hakata - Beppu (one-way)
Beppu - Kagoshima (one-way)
Kagoshima - Kumamoto (one-way)
Kumamoto - Nagasaki (one-way)*
*express train only

On the suggested to-do for Kumamoto-Nagasaki route, are the JR trains to be taken still covered by the JR Pass?

Yes.

http://www.hyperdia.com/en/cgi/en/search.html?dep_node=KUMAMOTO&arv_no...

This route is fully covered by the Japan Rail Pass.

Planning to buy a 7-day JR Pass to cover the following routes:
Hakata - Hiroshima (round trip)
Hakata - Beppu (one-way)
Beppu - Kagoshima (one-way)
Kagoshima - Kumamoto (one-way)
Kumamoto - Nagasaki (one-way)*

Your Japan Rail Pass 7 days covers all of these sections and easily pays off.

Thanks so much the help! :)

You'll do nicely with the pass, but please note that Beppu to Kagoshima will take about 3½ hours.
You can help yourself immensely by using Hyperdia to plan your times and routes.
http://www.hyperdia.com
https://goo.gl/Q843Bg

For Kumamoto to Nagasaki, try not to use the express train - go for the Limited Express Train Kamome.

I also would recommend going from Beppu to Kokura and hook up with the shinkansen there for Kagoshima. I did the Miyazaki to Kokura via Oita and it was quite long. Much of the time you are in the mountains and can't see much. I also did the Kagoshima to Miyazaki run the day before. I wanted to visit the eastern side of Kyushu, because if I didn't, I definitely would have used the much quicker shinkansen on the western half.

By JR Pass do you mean the nationwide version or Kyushu JR Pass? If you trip only in Kyushu, might as well just go for the Kyushu JR Pass as it's cheaper but it's only 3 or 5 days.

As for Nagasaki - Kumamoto route, there are ferries connecting the two prefectures if you fancy the more scenic and adventurous way. However, it's a bad value since you already have the rail pass.

I've done day trip to Nagasaki from Fukuoka and I found out that I ran out of time to visit the many sites in the City. I ended up taking the last train back to Fukuoka which arrived after midnight (it's 2hours+ train). I reckon Nagasaki - Kumamoto would be a much longer trip.

By JR Pass do you mean the nationwide version or Kyushu JR Pass? If you trip only in Kyushu, might as well just go for the Kyushu JR Pass as it's cheaper but it's only 3 or 5 days.

Beside Kyushu trip, the OP will do a round trip to Hiroshima from Hakata which will cost about 17,000 yen so the nationwide pass will pay off.

Thank you very much for all of your inputs! :)

@jonralf - actually considered Kyushu Pass initially but as @frog1954 already mentioned, I will also do RT Hakata-Hiroshima that's why I will opt for the 7-day JR Pass (nationwide). I already plotted the cities and dates, and found out that I can squeeze in the routes I mentioned in my first post here within that 7 consecutive days. I'll be circling the Kyushu region that's why my route will be Kumamoto first followed by Nagasaki then back again at Fukuoka for the remaining days in Japan. Taking note of the experiences you shared on these trips that you already did. :)

Hello Anne!

The answer is yes. You can use Sakura and Tsubame with the Japan Rail Pass.

You can activate your JR Pass for use by visiting a ticketing counter in many of the major train stations. Along the Kyushu Shinkansen Line, these include Hakata Station, Kumamoto Station, and Kagoshima-Chuo Station. The bullet trains that are not included are Nozomi and Mizuho. Source: https://www.jrailpass.com/blog/kyushu-shinkansen-jr-pass