Kumamoto to Kagoshima by bus

I'm doing the classic circle around Kyushu for 2 weeks at the end of this month (Fukuoka-Nagasaki-Kumamoto-Kagoshima-Beppu-Fukuoka).

Plan to traveling by bus and it appears that there are no direct connections from Kumamoto to Kagoshima. And between Miyazaki to Beppu. Have searched numerous sites but to no avail.

Would be grateful for any info/details on local/express bus connections for these cities.

There are highway buses that run between Kumamoto and Kagoshima. Check out:
http://www.rakubus.jp/english/rosen/kgs_kmt_kbe.html

From Miyazaki to Beppu is a slow coastal road which probably requires a few changes along the way. You might look for Miyazaki-Usuki-Oita-Beppu bus routes. Most transportation from Miyazaki is aimed at Kumamoto then Fukuoka.

Thanks Ana

Looking at the bus routes, would it then be better to travel from Kumamoto directly to Miyazaki and then to Kagoshima for a few days before heading back to Fukuoka? This would mean I'd skip Beppu. From what I read, Beppu seems very similar to Rotorua in NZ with the boiling mud and geyser. If so, I don't mind skipping it.

Another question, I remember reading on a website (but couldn't find it now!) that Toyoko Inn offers special discounts for Senior Citizens. I tried calling a Toyoko Inn to enquire about this but they were not able to understand my question. Have you heard of such a promotion?

Hi Chloe. Toyoko offers a discount for Seniors on Sundays and National holidays - 30% I think, and only one of a couple needs to qualify.I think it's because business people don't use them those days. You tell them on arrival and fill in a form at your first stay.

Looking at the bus routes, would it then be better to travel from Kumamoto directly to Miyazaki and then to Kagoshima for a few days before heading back to Fukuoka? This would mean I'd skip Beppu. From what I read, Beppu seems very similar to Rotorua in NZ with the boiling mud and geyser. If so, I don't mind skipping it.

Beppu is a non-descript city on the side of mountain that has a lot of hot water gushing out. The water is diverted into hotels and ponds for onsen, tropical animals, and boiling eggs. I've been there a couple of times and am not too impressed. It is worth a visit, but if you want a hot springs, I prefer the type found at Yufuin or other smaller areas. Also, what are your plans in Miyazaki? I could spend more time in the Kagoshima area than in Miyazaki, but that's just what I like to do. Kagoshima has the volcano, the sights and museums around the base of the volcano, Sakurajima, the site of the last Satsuma rebellion battle, and several world famous potteries located to the west and north of the city. To be fair, just south of Miyazaki is the Udo Shrine, right on the coast in a cave, and just to the north are the Saitobaru tombs.

If you're just going to Beppu to soak in some hot springs, you can find something between Kumamoto and Kagoshima to do the same, such as in Kirishima National Park, north of Kagoshima on the Miyazaki border.

On the bus from Kagoshima to Kobe, you can't get off at Kumamoto. You'll find Kumamoto is merely a boarding point if you look at the link carefully.

When I travelled from Kagoshima to Kumamoto recently, I took the overnight bus to Fukuoka, and then backtracked to Kumamoto the following morning. I bought a three-day whole Kyushu sunq pass. It was a great deal.

http://www.sunqpass.jp/english/index.shtml

If you'd like to purchase the northern kyushu sunq pass itself for 6k yen in Tokyo or Osaka, you need to go to buy it at Keio Shinjuku Bus Terminal in Tokyo, or at Hankyu Umeda Highway Bus ticket counter in Osaka. The travel agencies listed in the link sell it only if customers purchase it with a packaged tour. It's a catch.

I realized this issue when I went to a JTB branch in Kanagawa. I demanded the sunq pass authority amend its misleading website on this matter.

BTW, the sand bathing in Ibusuki, Kagoshima Pref. was sensational. I'd highly recommend you to try it.

That's good stuff. Now if the wife gets travel sickness in busses, is there an equivalent railpass? We are travelling Kitakyushu-Nagasaki-Kumamoto-Yufuin-Beppu and then on to Shikoku by ferry.

Thank you so much for all your replies, it has definitely helped to clear things up.