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Comments welcome on this Kyushu travel plan 2024/1/12 22:54
Hi everyone!

I will be on a work trip to Nagoya in March, and afterwards I am free to travel for a week (including the weekends).
As I already know Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Koyasan, Ise, Fuji etc. I have booked a departure flight from Fukuoka this time.

Here is a very preliminary travel plan. I would appreciate to hear what the Japan experts have to say about it. This route seemed to superficially make sense to me, but if you have better ideas I am totally open for any suggestions or comments.

It would be especially helpful to hear if you think that the amount of time I have assigned to each stop is too little/too much/just right. (When travelling I am fine with long, full days of exploring.)

Thank you very much!


Saturday
- Depart from Nagoya by train to Maibara
- Buy and activate "Sanyo-San’in Northern Kyushu Pass" for 7 days
- Take train to Beppu
- Overnight stay in Beppu

Sunday
- Visit Beppu
- Overnight stay in Beppu

Monday
- Train to Aso
- Visit Aso
- Overnight stay in Aso

Tuesday
- Train to Kumamoto
- Visit Kumamoto
- Train to Nagasaki
- Overnight stay in Nagasaki

Wednesday
- Maybe visit Gunkanjima?
- Visit Nagasaki
- Overnight stay in Nagasaki

Thursday
- Visit Nagasaki & surroundings
- Overnight stay in Nagasaki

Friday
- Train to Fukuoka
- Visit Fukuoka
- Overnight stay in Fukuoka

Saturday
- Railpass has expired today. What to buy to visit Fukuoka and surroundings and go to airport next day?
- Visit Fukuoka
- Overnight stay in Fukuoka

Sunday
- Train to Fukuoka airport
by asjdhraxdfhser  

Re: Comments welcome on this Kyushu travel plan 2024/1/13 05:51
When you say “train to Aso” what will you do there? The nice part about that region is the landscape. Eg getting up to mt Aso (if open) or riding tge Aso skyline. Both are kind of hard/impossible with public transport. Aso village is just a village in the crater.

The rest of the itinerary sounds good to me.

Don’t miss Dazaifu as daytrip from Fukuoka.

Fukuoka to airport is an easy metro ride. But I remember that you need to get a shuttle bus at tge airport to go to the international departure hall.
by LikeBike rate this post as useful

Re: Comments welcome on this Kyushu travel plan 2024/1/13 06:22
Hi! Thanks for the feedback!

Yes, I was hoping to go up by bus to the summit Mt Aso (Nakadake crater), and maybe to walk back down to Aso. You are saying this is very hard to do?
by asjdhraxdfhser rate this post as useful

Re: Comments welcome on this Kyushu travel plan 2024/1/13 09:55
There are a couple of things you may not be aware of regarding your plans. The first is with the Sanyo San-in Northern Kyushu Pass. You can start using it from Maibara, but the bullet train coverage only starts from Shin-Osaka. It's up to you if you want to buy a bullet train ticket over to Shin-Osaka to save time.
Also to get to Beppu the quickest, you'd switch trains at Kokura (Kitakyushu), taking the Sonic Ltd Express train. One other important thing is you can't buy JR West Passes in their ticket offices anymore. You'll need to get the exchange order at a travel agency before departure, or order it online. You might want to look at all the official info before your trip:
https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/ssnk/

You are also looking at some very long legs - using the pass like you suggest, getting to Beppu will take close to 5½ hours, and Beppu to Aso is about 4 hours. You don't say what you'll do, though the main draw of the place is the hot spring experience, as well as the Hell's Tour. The latter you can do in a few hours, so timewise it'll work. But there are some other good sights nearby, like in Oita City the Takasakiyama Monkey Park is one of the better ones of Japan. Seeing a place that has hundreds of monkeys around you is not something most people can do easily. For Aso, I wonder if you are up to renting a car for the area - it would be the most convenient by far, and there are many good sights in the region. Aside from the crater rim, the view from the Daikanbo Lookout when the weather is good is tremendous, and Nabegataki Falls is a nice place to see also. Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine is also a cool place to visit, and if you can stay in Kurokawa, it offers some very nice outdoor forest hot springs that are not that too common elsewhere.
The main sights of Kumamoto are the castle and Suizenji Garden, plus a few other minor sights if interested. You are putting in some good time for Nagasaki though. Actually, if you can see the Yutoku Inari Shrine on the way there, it is one of the finest Inari shrines in the country. If you do go to Gunkanjima, you will need that time there - it takes 3 hours by itself, and that just has one hour on the island. The boats could be closed for the day if the weather is bad, so be sure to have some other back up plans. You might also consider seeing Unzen (again, renting a car is by far the better way to get around), or going to Sasebo - Huis Ten Bosch is the most famous, but the 99 Island cruise is also quite nice and if you get good weather and can see the bay from several overlook points, it will surely be a highlight of your trip. Nagasaki has some excellent food as well, like chanpon, saraudon, and the Sasebo burger, so by all means try them all.
For Fukuoka, be sure to see the nice Nanzoin Temple just outside the city. You also might want to see Ohori Park (see the traditional garden on the south end as well), TeamLab Forest, and Fukuoka Tower. Outside the city is Dazaifu, Yanagawa, or you might want to see a bit of Kitakyushu or Mojiko.
https://goo.gl/Q843Bg


by Ken (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Comments welcome on this Kyushu travel plan 2024/1/13 12:38
One option other than the Sanyo San-in Northern Kyushu Pass is of course flight. The ANA flight from Nagoya to Nagasaki is about 104 USD.

The rough plan is:

Day 1 Nagoya (NGO) to Nagasaki (NGS).
Day 1 to 3 Sightseeing Nagasaki.
Day 4 to 6 Nagasaki-Kumamoto-Aso-Beppu. Northern Kyushu pass 3 days 12000 yen.
https://www.jrkyushu.co.jp/english/railpass/railpass.html
Day 6-7 Beppu.
Day 8 Train or bus from Beppu to Hakata. Bus is cheaper (3250 yen).
Day 8-9 Hakata (Fukuoka).
by frog1954 rate this post as useful

Re: Comments welcome on this Kyushu travel plan 2024/1/13 16:50
Sunday: Train to Fukuoka airport
this day,you can buy subway 1 day pass =640 yen,if you have child,then adult +child 1 day pass = 800 yen
by Kalam (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Comments welcome on this Kyushu travel plan 2024/1/15 21:48
Hello everyone, and thanks so much for your input!

I kinda want to avoid renting a car, because I really dislike the hassle of pickup and return.

Here is an alternative travel plan, based on the info you have already given. What do you think?

----

Saturday
- Depart from Nagoya to Nara (2-3h), using a single ticket
- Visit Nara
- Overnight stay in Nara

Sunday
- Activate "Sanyo-San’in Northern Kyushu Pass" for 7 days
- Train to Kumamoto (4-5h)
- Overnight stay in Kumamoto

Monday
- Visit Kumamoto & surroundings
- Overnight stay in Kumamoto

Tuesday
- Train to Nagasaki
- Visit Nagasaki & surroundings, possibly Gunkanjima
- Overnight stay in Nagasaki

Wednesday
- Visit Nagasaki & surroundings, possibly Gunkanjima
- Overnight stay in Nagasaki

Thursday
- Visit Nagasaki & surroundings, possibly Gunkanjima
- Overnight stay in Nagasaki
(Alternatively: Train to Fukuoka in the afternoon, overnight stay in Fukuoka)

Friday
- Train to Fukuoka
- Visit Fukuoka & surroundings
- Overnight stay in Fukuoka

Saturday
- Visit Fukuoka & surroundings
- Overnight stay in Fukuoka

Sunday
- Use single ticket to go to Fukuoka airport
by asjdhraxdfhser rate this post as useful

Re: Comments welcome on this Kyushu travel plan 2024/1/15 22:09
I've spent quite a bit of time in Kyushu. What type of stuff do you like doing and what is your general travel speed. I can make some suggestions if that helps. I've visited many of the main towns in Kyushu.

If you are also after an interesting way of getting to Beppu (if you still want to visit) - there is a nightly car ferry which looks pretty cool between Osaka and Beppu. I've always wanted to try one of these - plus the travel cost basically becomes your hotel cost.

I'll also include a link to my profile which has stuff to do in many of the cities/towns in Kyushu

https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/

Something that might be fun (and a bit different is)

Ferry to Beppu - visit Beppu and potentially visit Kitsuki or Usuki as a side trip

Train to Fukuoka (stay a few nights, visit Dazaifu - Fukuoka is an ok city)

Early train to Nagasaki - stay a couple of days. I really like this city! Gunkajima is really only half a day.

Go back to Fukuoka via train and potentially stay at an onsen resort on the way back (Ureshino or Takeo). I also like Yutoku Inari Shrine around here as well.

Kumamoto is an ok city - but not heaps to do. The castle would have been pretty impressive before the earthquake a couple of years ago


by mfedley rate this post as useful

Re: Comments welcome on this Kyushu travel plan 2024/1/16 06:08
I'd just like to point out that any tourist location at Aso is a 20-30 minute car/taxi/bus ride away from the station. I would put Asosan on an itinerary if it is just a blow through sightseeing spot.
by H (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Comments welcome on this Kyushu travel plan 2024/1/16 22:09
Thanks again for everyone's replies!

I have streamlined and simplified my plan further based on them. As Nara really sounds worth visiting, and I have not yet been to Hiroshima, I have included them instead of Kumamoto.

What do you think?

-----

Saturday
- Depart from Nagoya to Nara (2-3h), using a single ticket
- Drop off luggage at Hotel
- Visit Nara & surroundings
- Overnight stay in Nara

Sunday
- Visit Nara & surroundings
- Overnight stay in Nara

Monday
- Activate "Sanyo-San’in Northern Kyushu Pass" for 7 days
- Train to Hiroshima
- Drop off luggage at Hotel
- Visit Hiroshima
- Overnight stay in Hiroshima

Tuesday
- Train to Nagasaki
- Drop off luggage at Hotel
- Visit Nagasaki & surroundings, possibly Gunkanjima
- Overnight stay in Nagasaki

Wednesday
- Visit Nagasaki & surroundings, possibly Gunkanjima
- Overnight stay in Nagasaki

Thursday
- Visit Nagasaki & surroundings, possibly Gunkanjima
- Overnight stay in Nagasaki

Friday
- Train to Fukuoka
- Drop off luggage at Hotel
- Visit Fukuoka & surroundings
- Overnight stay in Fukuoka

Saturday
- Visit Fukuoka & surroundings
- Overnight stay in Fukuoka

Sunday
- Depart from Fukuoka airport
by asjdhraxdfhser rate this post as useful

Re: Comments welcome on this Kyushu travel plan 2024/1/16 22:13
Alternatively, I could stay one more night in Nara, and leave out Hiroshima. There seems to be a lot to do in Nara.
by asjdhraxdfhser rate this post as useful

Re: Comments welcome on this Kyushu travel plan 2024/1/17 01:05
OK, I have booked (still cancelable, in case you tell me that I made a horrible mistake 😉):

- 3 nights in Nara, in a traditional Japanese room.
- 3 nights in Nagasaki in a hotel near the station (to enable excursions)
- 2 nights in a hotel near Hakata station (to enable excursions)
by asjdhraxdfhser rate this post as useful

Re: Comments welcome on this Kyushu travel plan 2024/1/17 01:10
Sounds good
by LikeBike rate this post as useful

Re: Comments welcome on this Kyushu travel plan 2024/1/17 02:34
You can visit Hiroshima on your way from Nara to Nagasaki. It makes a nice break on your long train trip, and you can get there just in time for lunch.
by Mellye rate this post as useful

Re: Comments welcome on this Kyushu travel plan 2024/1/17 05:08
I doubt that expensive pass would pay off. Confirm single ticket costings.
by H (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Comments welcome on this Kyushu travel plan 2024/1/17 11:14
Sanyo-San’in Northern Kyushu Pass is valid for 7 days so you may better set the valid period to maximize it.

In your final itinerary, the last day is to go to Fukuoka airport which is not covered by the pass. So you should use the pass from the second day of Nara.

From Nara to Nagasaki, take the JR which goes through Osaka-east line. Probably you can take the reserved seat (normally add 300 yen) for free (ask at JR Nara station). It will take about 1 hour to Shin-Osaka (no transfer needed).

From Nara you can side trip to:

Horyuji
Himeji (castle)
Shin-Kobe
Etc.

As a base for side trip, Hakata is better than Nagasaki so you might better have 2 nights in Nagasaki and 3 nights in Hakata (the name of the city is Fukuoka).

From Nagoya to Nara I guess you are planning to go via Kintetsu limited express. There are also direct bus.

https://www.narakotsu.co.jp/language/en/express/nara-nagoya.html

Bus is cheaper and no transfer while Kintetsu limited express is much more comfortable. It depends on your preferences.
by frog1954 rate this post as useful

Re: Comments welcome on this Kyushu travel plan 2024/1/17 11:20
Just a reminder - if your hotel is not near the station, instead of wasting time taking your bags to your hotel, you can give it to a luggage forwarder at the station and they can take it to your hotel for you. As long as you drop it off by mid-morning or so, your bags should arrive at your hotel by that evening.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2278.html
by Ken (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Comments welcome on this Kyushu travel plan 2024/2/1 23:06
Thank you again to everyone posting in this thread! I have been able to more or less finalize my travel plans with your help.

A few final question:
1) There is a lot to see at and around Nara. Anything particularly worth visiting?
2) Do the luggage storage options at Hiroshima train station allow for a large (but still airtravel sized) suitcase?
3) As I visit Hiroshima only for a few hours, what are the "must see"s?

Thanks again!

by asjdhraxdfhser rate this post as useful

Re: Comments welcome on this Kyushu travel plan 2024/2/1 23:42
Well, Hiroshima is not a theme park. If you want to go to the atomic bomb sites, then this in itself takes time, and more importantly you might want a little bit of time to digest everything. (Possibly a visit to Shukkeien afterwards would give you a place for unfrenzied post-processing?) Of course, Hiroshima is a big modern city, and you certainly don’t have to visit the memorial sites. You can find other things to do there instead, but I’m not sure they are worth the nuisance and expense of stowing your luggage. (I’m sorry I don’t know the particulars of that.)

As for Nara. Aw, Jeez… LOTS of places there are particularly worth visiting. Besides the most famous places (which are definitely worth visiting), I like the gardens at Kasuga Taisha myself.
by Kim (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Comments welcome on this Kyushu travel plan 2024/2/1 23:47
1) There is a lot to see at and around Nara. Anything particularly worth visiting?

I'd tell you to visit Kasuga Taisha, Nara Park and Todai-ji are the main highlights and are very close together.
I've never been to Horyu-ji, but many people told me it's worth so you can give a try.

What I can tell you is that if time allows you try visiting Uji city, it's very nice, specially the Byodoin temple which is depicted in the 10 yen coin.

2) Do the luggage storage options at Hiroshima train station allow for a large (but still airtravel sized) suitcase?

Not sure about lugagge storage but for sure there must be lockers of large size.


3) As I visit Hiroshima only for a few hours, what are the "must see"s?

I don't know how much time you have, but I'd tell you to go to Miyajima (which is 45 min + short ferry from hiroshima station) and see the shrine and the floating torii, but don't do the hiking if you don't stay for at least 1 and half days.

In Hiroshima city you can't miss Peace Park and the Atomic Bomb Dome and Museum which are stuck together but 30 min walking from the station.

If you have time go to Okonomimura for lunch and eat Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki and walk around Hondori arcade for some shopping.


by Peter1986 rate this post as useful

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