13 day 12 Night Itinerary

Hello everyone

Posting my Itinerary here and see if I am rushing it. Note that this isn't my first time in Japan however this will be my first time in Kyushu.

03/11/2023 Fly into Tokyo at 4:45pm, get on flight to Fukuoka at 7:45pm arriving there at around 9:45pm. Get on Shinkansen from Hakata station to Kokura arriving around 10:30-10:50pm.

^Regarding the above, would it be better to book a one day Hotel in Fukuoka and then move hotels to Kokura on the 4th? The Cost will exponetially increase though as I am already getting a very good cost of the hotel in Kokura.

04/11/2023 Kokura iDOLM@STER MILLION LIVE 10th LIVE TOUR ACT 3 R@ISE THE DREAM!!! DAY 1 (This is a concert that I'm going to that will be happening on this day)

05/11/2023 Kokura Kyushu Railway Museum in Moji then iDOLM@STER MILLION LIVE 10th LIVE TOUR ACT 3 R@ISE THE DREAM!!! DAY 2 (This is a concert that I'm going to that will be happening on this day)

06/11/2023 Beppu Take 8am train from Kokura to Beppu (Sonic or Nichirin)

07/11/2023 Yufu Bungo Mori morning until noon until train back to Yufuin.

For this I plan to get to Bungo Mori at around 9:30am (Beppu bus to Yufuin Station -> Yufu Limited Express) and then taking the Yufuin no Mori back to Yufuin at 11:04am

08/11/2023 Fukuoka

Stopover at Tosu station for only a small bit for the Zombieland Saga Manhole cover near the Ekimae Real Estate Stadium. Next maybe walk over to Shin Tosu station to get picture of the other Zombieland Saga Manhole cover. Drop luggage in Fukuoka and go to Karatsu + Saga if time permits. Head back to Fukuoka.

I wonder if this Karatsu + Saga this is even worth it because of all the Zombieland Saga things in those cities. Unfortunately I do not have time for Imari.

09/11/2023 Miyajima

10/11/2023 Onomichi etSETOra Tourist Train (9:32am Hiroshima Station departure) -> Onomichi

11/11/2023 Awaji -> Kobe -> Osaka Nijigen no Mori on Awaji Island -> Kobe for Dinner -> Osaka

12/11/2023 Osaka Day trip to Takatsuki then head back to Osaka. I wonder if I could add something else here.

13/11/2023 Nagoya -> Tokyo Stopover in Nagoya for the SC Maglev Museum Head back to Nagoya for food/ekiben. Take Shinkansen to Tokyo

14/11/2023 Tokyo

15/11/2023 Flight back in the evening. But will be in Tokyo for the day.

I will have a JR Kyushu North Rail pass activated from November 6th to 8th, a Kamenoi Bus Pass for Beppu and Yufuin for November 6-7, and a 7 day JR Rail pass activated from November 9th to 15th. Pretty sure the trips that I am doing already make these purchases worth it, but I was wondering if I should be aware of any other passes.

For Beppu and yufuin:
You can buy yufuin 1 day rail and bus pass: 2270 yen, valid JR beppu to JR yufuin,and valid kamenoi bus in beppu and yufuin area

I strongly recommend you to visit dazaifu while you stay in fukuoka prefecture. so you can buy Fukuoka (Tenjin) to dazaifu 1 day bus pass=820 yen by nishitetsu bus , unlimited travel in Fukuoka and dazaifu atea

Re Dazaifu

I hear that the main attraction right now is currently under renovations for at least three years hence why its not on my travel plans.

https://www.fukuoka-now.com/en/floating-forest/#:~:text=A%20major%20re....

If it wasn't under renovation, I would definitely go there.

One more thing

Is it better to just spend the first couple of days in Fukuoka and buy the 14 day JR pass instead of buying the separate JR Kyushu and 7 day JR pass?

When I did my calculations, the total cost of the trip if I were doing this with tickets was at least 75000 yen.

Here is my recommendation
Nov 3 :Arrive in hakata station and spend you r first night in fukuoka
Nov 4, 5:buy Fukuoka wide pass 2 day=3060 yen,cover fukuoka,kokura city
Nov 6, 7, 8: buy sunQ pass 3 day =9000 yen
Cover kokura, beppu ,yufuin city etc
Nov 9,10:Jr hiroshima,yamaguchi area pass 5day =13000 cover hakata,miyajimaonomichi

Thanks for the suggestion but the SunQ pass doesn't allow you to use JR trains as I need to use it on day 5 at least twice to get to Bungo Mori and back.

Also for 9,10. The 10k JR west pass is highly irrelevant as on the 10th, I will be taking a tourist train that will cost 2560 yen from Hiroshima to Onomichi which allows me to enjoy the views of the Seto In-land sea via the Kure Line and am also a fan of trains so thats another bonus. This train is Green Car seats only so any pass will probably not work.

The Kyushu pass doesn't allow Shinkansen usage either. Sure I know theres the 40 min train from Kokura <-> Hakata but thats ymmv if I want to stick with friends.