What would you do in Fukuoka for 6 days?

I�fll be staying near Kokura Station for 6 days and would love to hear your recommendations on how to make the most of my time there.

I�fll be heading to Fukuoka for two days to catch the sumo tournament, but I�fve got four full days open and would really appreciate any suggestions whether it's local food, day trips, hidden gems, or anything unique.

Are you staying in Fukuoka or Kitakyushu?

Dazaifu would be a nice day trip
And the Toto toilet museum in Kita Kyushu would be on my list

Yufuin and / or Beppu s well as Kitsuki would daytrip options from Kitakyushu

I second Kitsuki (much quieter than Yufuin, which might be a good or bad thing depending on your preferences). You also have Usa Hachiman-gū along the way.
Tsuwano is also doable as a day trip (busy, but in a quiet manner).

Some train passes that might interest you:
- https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/hiroshima_yamaguchi/
- https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/ssnk/

The JR Kyushu rail passes do not let you use the shinkansen between Kokura and Hakata.
- https://www.jrkyushu.co.jp/english/railpass/railpass.html

I can�ft believe that the JR Kyushu passes don�ft cover the shinkansen between Kokura and Hakata. If JR West can work it out with JR Kyushu to cover Nagasaki and Kumamoto, surely JR Kyushu could cover that little stretch. Jeez.

Personally, I would get one of the JR West passes (for me, probably the Sanyo-Sanin Northern Kyushu one) and come up with a long list of possible day trips, and then play it by ear depending on the weather and what I felt like at the time. Are you talking about the tournament in November? I really liked Akiyoshidai at that time (you have to take a bus from Yamaguchi, though, and there aren�ft many so you have to plan carefully). There are so many possibilities both for western Honshu and for Kyushu. If you enjoy recreational train riding there are a number of possibilities for sightseeing trains or limited express trains.

I would probably go to Nagasaki and eat lunch (or possibly dinner) at Bistro Bordeaux, my favorite restaurant there.

Regarding Akiyoshidai (a great place for hiking on a nice fall day), I would take the Bocho bus from Shin Yamaguchi (a very short hop from Kokura) instead of using my rail pass to cover the JR bus from Yamaguchi. It just isn�ft worth the extra time to get the bus paid for.

Akiyoshido (cave) is also interesting, but I liked the plateau more. Of course, if you�fre there anyway you should definitely go through the cave.

Thanks for the comments!

This is at the tail end of my trip and I'll have the JR Pass

I'm staying in Kitakyushu as my base because it's a lot cheaper and with the JR Pass only 15 minutes to Hakata.

Yes, the November sumo tournament I'll be going to

I�fm also staying in Kokura (for the same reason you are) on an upcoming trip, with a nationwide pass. With a nationwide pass you can add southern Kyushu if you want. I really like Kagoshima. Less than two hours with the JR pass (you can�ft use the faster Mizuho). The Kyushu shinkansen is kind of boring (a lot of tunnels) but so fast that you can get to a lot of places. Of course, you don�ft have to go nearly that far to have many good day trip options, but two hours on a comfortable train is quite tolerable as far as I�fm concerned.

Saga prefecture has a lot of interesting places.

I would head down to Usa, see the huge shrine complex there, rent a car at Toyota, near the station, and head into the Kunisaki Peninsula to explore some old mountain temples and some good mountain trails.

You could also stop at Nakatsu, Oita, and get a bus to Yabakei and check out the Rakanji Temple up on the mountainside (slow chairlift if you don't want to hike).

Already mentioned, but if you're staying in Kokura, the Toto Museum is south of the station. There's also the Tanga market in Kokura.

A couple of stops back toward the Kanmon Bridge is Moji, which has historic buildings around the station and port area.

Fukuoka City has a good museum, Ohori Park, and lots of yatai for street food.

Thumbs up for the Toto toilet museum.

I'd probably just stay in Kokura for the days you need to get to Fukuoka (if, as you say, accommodation in Fukuoka is too expensive).

I'd then spend the other 4 days elsewhere in Kyushu. Where to go would depend on what your interests are, but there's lots to choose from. With 4 days, you could do 2 x 2 days in 2 separate places, which wouldn't be too rushed...

My sense is that hotel prices in Fukuoka might have finally hit a ceiling, but they are still way too high for me (just no value there, especially on weekends), plus there are too many tourists there. I�fm trying Kokura for the first time as an alternative, although there are numerous other possibilities for alternative �ghome bases�h for that area. Whether to change hotels several times in a 6-day stretch is very much a matter of personal travel style. I think it is what most people would do.

Moji is one of the places I was looking at for my own stay in Kita Kyushu. Looks interesting. Usa and/or Kitsuki as well. I was thinking I might go to the Oita Umitamago aquarium, and one of those two places might be nice to hit on the way down or the way back.

In Saga, Yoshinogari historical site and Yutoku Inari Shrine are two places I keep trying to get to but things keep interfering. Maybe on this next trip�c Japan Guide�fs Saga page has places to accommodate a wide variety of interests:
https://www.japan-guide.com/list/e1241.html

I certainly wouldn't spend all 6 days in Fukuoka. Kitakyushu and the prefecture of course have some good sights. Fukuoka City is even better.
https://is.gd/k5PLnx

But I would get out and explore a lot more. One question is if you're willing to rent a car. That vastly expands your options and you can see many places that not so many tourists go to see. Otherwise, there is the Sun-Q Bus Pass you might consider, or take the trains. Nagasaki is one of the most interesting places on the island, and loads to explore, with more nearby like Unzen and Sasebo. Saga is an often ignored place but has some very good places as well. Beppu & Yufuin are well known for their hot springs of course.
https://is.gd/2SYtZy

Beppu, Yufuin, Fukuoka, Mojiko Port.

Kokura itself has a castle and various museums.

Plenty to do in and around the area, ignore the nay-sayers.

Ok so the final itinerary that we decided on is

Day 1:
Arrive in Kokura and explore the local area

Day 2:
Nanzoin Temple
Fukuoka

Day 3:
Yufuin
Fukuoka

Day 4:
Kumamoto

Day 5:
Sumo

Day 6:
Sumo

How are you getting to and grom Yufuin? Whether you go via Fukuoka or Oita. It's about 2.5 hours one way using the faster train options.

A car would be about 90 minutes. But factor in pick up and drop off times. I car wouldn't be much quicker.

Anyway, 5 hour round trip. I'm not sure you'd have much time for Fukuoka afterwards.

Is "sumo" a whole day activity? Maybe you could visit Nanzoin in the morning, before going to see the matches, freeing day 2 for another day trip.

Nagasaki is definitely possible as a day trip from Fukuoka- I managed to take a tour of Gunkanjima on one. That was before the Nagasaki Shinkansen, so the travel time now will be less, but it may be more expensive.

I�fll be with 4 other people on this trip. 20 year old and 3 60 year olds.

We�fre going to be using the Jr Pass as much as we can.

For the Yufuin day if there�fs anytime after Yufuin then we�fll head to Fukuoka but the main objective that day is Yufuin.

The sumo days will be from 3pm-6pm