Should we skip Yakushima?

On April 10, 2010, my fiance and I will be married and we plan to spend our honeymoon in Japan. Right now I am assuming we will only be able to spend 10 days, 9 nights in the country. My tentative itinerary originally included three days in Tokyo, four days in Kyoto, and three days in Yakushima. However, it seems quite a long trip from Kyoto to Yakushima, and also expense is an issue. So I was beginning to make my peace with cutting Yakushima out of our plans. However, it is gnawing at me as we both really want to go. The ideal situation would be if we could spend at least twelve if not fourteen days in Japan and then this issue would probably not exist. However, it is unknown how much time both of us will be able to take off of work, and also we need a day or two to readjust to our timezone before returning to work.

Anyway, I guess the question is: Is it practical to visit Yakushima, coming from Kyoto, if the overall vacation time is only ten days long? Is our time better spent exploring the other two locations in-depth? It seems like, in all, it's almost ten hours worth of travel time to get to Yakushima from Kyoto if you don't take a plane (and planes mean greater expense, plus who knows how much of a layover will exist between the flights to Kagoshima and then to Yakushima). Plus, if Yakushima is the last stop on our trip, will we wish to endure a ten hour trip back to the airport to embark on a twenty hour trip home?? If we depart from the airport in Osaka rather than the airport in Tokyo, perhaps that will be less grueling, but still. Any thoughts?

Does anybody have any input on our predicament? :(

Elena & GameAngel64,

No one responded probably because not many have visited Yakushima including me. Using the Search feature above your Post, I can appreciate your interest in visiting there. I note that you're looking at staying in Tokyo for 3 days while your Post yearns for Yakushima. You said, "and also expense is an issue" and " However, it is gnawing at me as we both really want to go."

Do a detail day by day itinerary plus a detail budget. You can consider not visiting Tokyo and spend your time between Kyoto and Yakushima. Fly in and out of Kansai Airport (KIX). On your arrival, consider spending 1 or 2 nights at Hiroshima. One night in Hiroshima works if your KIX arrival time is early in the day. If for 2 nights, early the next morning you can leave for Yakushima via Kagoshima. Spend a few nights in Yakushima and return to Miyajima Island for one night at a economy Ryokan. Then, continue on to Kyoto with a stop-over at Himeji Castle. From Kyoto, you can consider day trips to Nara and/or Osaka before going home. You may also want to consider Kagoshima, Beppu and other nearby Cities. You can always return to Japan to visit Tokyo and other Cities.

I assume that you will leave on your trip the day after you get married. You can be home on Friday or Saturday before going back to work on Monday. If you return on Friday, you can plan for 11 nights in Japan. You may want to look into the 7-Day JR Rail Pass plus the JR West Rail Pass Kansai Area 4-Day Pass for economical train travels.

Or if you prefer, don't go to Yakushima and go to Tokyo thereby flying into KIX and out of Narita, Tokyo (NRT). But, if you can take more vacation days, add Tokyo, revise your itinerary and consider the 14-Day JR Rail Pass. Of course, your budget will increase accordingly. Since you're looking at about a year and a half from now, it should not be difficult to save more. I recognize that you also have a wedding budget. Although we don't like to talk about it and depending on where you live, the general wedding gift custom also includes monetary gifts that may be considered for your wedding and honeymoon travel budgets. So, do Itinerary & Budget No. 1 and Itinerary & Budget No. 2 Extended. Do this since you don't know how many days you can take off work and decide which works as you get closer to April, 2010.

If you consider the above, you'll need to do more research. A good research tool is the Search feature above this Post.

Thank you for your lengthy and thoughtful reply. GameAngel64 is also me (Elana), I just forgot to change my name for that post. Since my fiance and I have never been to Japan, it seems kind of unthinkable to us to miss Tokyo, and we also have our hearts set on some of the side trips from there (especially Kamakura). So if one of our three destinations is getting the axe, it will probably be Yakushima.

As you noticed, our plans are heavily contingent upon how many days we can get off and also budget. We have thought about the money we are likely to get from the wedding, but I feel uncomfortable in counting on that when booking my plans because what gift money we will receive is of an uncertain amount. And yes, we are concerned about the cost of our wedding itself and the new property we have just purchased (fiance will be living there alone until the wedding :p). There is a lot of time between now and the wedding, though, and we are saving our money like crazy. That's in fact half the reason the date is so far off in the future.

I'd also like to note that we are actually planning not to go on our honeymoon right after the wedding, but to instead leave for Japan around May 12, for although I know the cherry blossoms are prominent in April, we'd both prefer less of a chance of cold weather, and the rainy season should not be in full swing then. Unless you think that's a bad idea? Obviously nothing is booked yet so we can still be swayed.

Perhaps we will have to hope to return to Japan someday in order to see Yakushima... or otherwise hope for a windfall of money and lots of time off :)

Thanks for your insights!

I have to second Harold. For what it is worth I only went to Tokyo on my 3rd trip to Japan and while it was interesting for the sake of saying "I have been to Shinjuku and Akihabara etc." the fact is that Osaka has enough huge department stores, underground malls,old districts,a few very old temples etc. to compete with Tokyo,a capital that has few historical buildings. And of course Osaka is literally next door to Kyoto, Nara,Kobe and just under 2 hrs from Hiroshima.Your heart is set for Yakushima so follow your dream, go there and skip Tokyo. For Osaka check http://www.osaka-info.jp/en/ and be sure to check all the "courses" as they call it . That site has numerous pages and you will be amazed by all Osaka has to offer. By the way I have known couples who hint that they are planning a honeymoon/tourist trip and guests are only to happy to contribute rather than buy pots and pans or a china service.Don't be shy about it.

Have you thought about using the Yokoso/Welcome to Japan fare? Depending on which airline you fly into Japan on, it will cost you 20,000 to 26,000 yen round trip from Tokyo Haneda or KIX. A shinkansen trip from Kyoto to Kagashima is almost 22,000 yen one-way and takes almost 6 hours. Then you have to try to get to Yakushima which will cost you extra money and more time.

Both Japan Airlines and ANA offer the fare (although, I'm not sure for how much longer). Here are the websites for both:

http://www.jal.co.jp/yokosojapan/

http://www.ana.co.jp/wws/us/e/travelservice/reservations/spe...

After looking at the websites, I noticed that Yakushima is not included in either of the two airlines destinations (as far as Yokoso goes). You can make it to Kagoshima in less than 2 hours from Tokyo Haneda and a little over an hour from Osaka Itami or Kobe airports. I'd call them and see if the fare includes Yakushima.

I'm also assuming you are coming from the US as the websites are primarily for US customers.

Anyway, good luck!!

You definitely have time to visit Yakushima in 10 days, and it is affordable if you get a Japan Rail Pass and take full advantage of the Shinkansen (bullet train).

While not many foreign visitors make it to Yakushima, many Japanese do, and it is highly recommended. I will have to agree with previous posters: though Tokyo is the capital, it is primarily a business center, and you won't miss much if you pass on Tokyo. Japan has a number of large cities, and you can get the same experience (with less crowded trains) elsewhere. Most Japanese, even Tokyo residents, don't really recommend Tokyo as a first time destination (there is always next time). Also, you will find Kansai (or Nogoya) to be much more convenient airports. Finally, even if you don't make it all of the way to Yakushima, you will definitely enjoy exploring the Kyushu area (there is quite a lot to do and it is a preferred destination for many).

Here is another possible itinerary:

1 Arrive at KIX (Kansai Airport) . Visit Osaka castle.

2 Leave early to Hiroshima and Miyajima. Spend all day. 6000yen

3 Take the train to Hakata in Kyushu, followed by Kumamoto, to see the volcano (at the summit) and finally, Kumamoto castle.

4 Take the train to Ibusuki (near Kagoshima), where you can enjoy the volcanic sand bath on the beach. Then take the last jet ferry (Toppy) to Yakusima.

5 Spend time in Yakushima. Don�ft skip the natural bath on the beach.

6 Spend most of the day in Yakushima and take the last jet ferry to Kagoshima. You can consider visiting Sakura Jima (another active volcano right next to Kagoshima). Take the train back to Hakata.

7 Take the train back to Kyoto and spend the rest of your time Kyoto or the surrounding Kansai area. Visit Imai-cho in Nara for a non touristy old neighborhood or maybe visit historic Jinai-machi in Osaka, or the Osaka aquarium, or Koya-san in Wakayama (a world heritage location).

If you really want to visit Tokyo, consider some travel destinations in between, such as Takayama or Kiso Valley (ideal honeymoon spots).

Yakushima is mainly a place for hikers & swimmers with a few hot springs tossed in. If this is what you want to get out of Japan, then it's a great place to do this. Just be prepared for rain and wet feet although some bogs have boardwalks across them, other places are fairly muddy.

I would also rent a car in Miyanoura or at the Yakushima Airport as this will save you time getting around to places, and get you also to where the buses don't go.

I think it's very doable. Two days or so in Tokyo is probably plenty, but it is one of the world's great cities, and worth seeing, especially areas like Harajuku and Asakusa which are quite unique and don't have equivalents in Kansai that I know of.

That leaves you plenty of time for both Kansai and Yakushima- if you think you will only make it to Japan once in your life, or perhaps not visit again for a long time, and would really like to see Yakushima, then you should definitely include it- whether you want to do all that travel at the end of your trip is of course up to you, but I find that the tiredness from long hours of travelling fades quickly, whereas the memories of visiting fascinating places last forever.