This sub was so useful when I planned my trip that I wanted to write up a trip report from my December trip to give back! In particular, I thought I’d share my experience traveling in a group that was mixed vegetarian and omnivore in Kyushu. My husband is vegetarian but I’m not; I was also unwilling to eat combini food and CoCo Curry for my entire time in Japan, so we needed to figure out how we were both going to eat meals that worked for us. There’s nothing particularly groundbreaking here, but hopefully someone will still find this helpful!
**Some background:**
– We are in our early 30s and from the US.
– This was my third trip to Japan and my husband’s first as an adult.
– I know a very small amount of Japanese (more than the basics of excuse me/thank you/hello, but I’m certainly not conversational).
– Our full route was Tokyo-Hiroshima/Miyajima-Kyushu, but I’m just going to focus on the Kyushu part since that’s less covered.
**Itinerary:**
– *Day One: Miyajima to Nagasaki Transit Day.* Ferry to Miyajima station, Sanyo line to Hiroshima Station, shinkansen to Fukuoka (got the discount klook tickets), highway bus to Nagasaki (there’s a train but I didn’t want to add yet another transfer). Checked into our hotel and got toruko rice (the [restaurant] (https://maps.app.goo.gl/aVCtYNQcQP9T5MFi7) helpfully topped it with egg instead of pork to make it vegetarian). Night One in Nagasaki.
– *Day Two: Nagasaki.* Our Gunkanjima trip got canceled because of weather, which was disappointing. Had some incredibly tasty [bread and coffee] (https://maps.app.goo.gl/bct8vzSEgq9kXH91A) at the rare place that opens early, and went to the Atomic Bomb Museum, Peace Memorial, Peace Park, and Hamamachi shopping street. Lunch was sandwiches (egg for my husband, BLT for me) at a [cute cafe] (https://maps.app.goo.gl/JRWCdw2BtPB5enBj8) by the Peace Park. Dinner was at CoCo Curry. Night Two in Nagasaki.
– *Day Three: Nagasaki.* Started at the Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture, which was a highlight. Gave us helpful context for the rest of the trip. Went to Kofukuji Temple, Meganebashi Bridge, Dejima, Chinatown, Tojin Yashiki, and the Dutch Slope. Mt. Inasa for the night view. Meals this day weren’t great, so I won’t link to them. Night Three in Nagasaki.
– *Day Four: Day Trip to Shimabara.* Trains aren’t super frequent, so we made sure to time the connection out. Went to Yuusui-Teien Shimeiso Garden, the shiba inu wall, Shimabara castle, and the samurai residence area. Had to stop by the shiba inu wall a couple of times to catch the dogs when they were awake and interested, but it was worth it! A very peaceful and enjoyable day. Night Four in Nagasaki.
– *Day Five: Nagasaki to Kurokawa (with a stop at Arita and Okawachiyama).* Picked up our rental car and drove to Arita and Okawachiyama for pottery shopping. Most shops in Arita were closed (which I was prepared for since it was a Tuesday), but all the Okawachiyama shops were open and we had a great time! Left before seeing all the pottery because we were spending too much money. Drove to our ryokan in Kurokawa (Sanga Ryokan). Kurokawa was basically the entire reason for this trip, and it did not disappoint. Picturesque, relaxing, and an onsen-lover’s dream. Spent the rest of the night onsening. Ryokan Sanga provided all of our meals (vegetarian for my husband and omnivore for me) for the next few days; we were always too full to eat lunch. Night one in Kurokawa.
– *Day Six: Kurokawa.* Onsen hopping. A bath pass was included in our stay. I went to Okunoyu (mixed bath so my husband and I could onsen together), Ikoi (includes a standing bath for women, which is my favorite kind of onsen), Shinmeikan (they have a cave bath that was cool but they don’t have any other public onsen facilities so I probably wouldn’t go back), and Ryokan Kounoyu (my favorite! See note below). Night Two in Kurokawa.
– *Day Seven: Day Trip to Mt. Aso Area.* Drove out and rented a boat at Takachiho Gorge (reservation made one week in advance). Saw Ama-no-Iwato-jinja (we missed the tour for the observation deck, but the cave that’s accessible by foot is still great) and Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine. We intended to hike the Mt. Nakadake loop and see some lookouts, but the weather conditions were too bad. Night Three in Kurokawa.
– *Day Eight: Kurokawa to Fukuoka.* Drove to the Fukuoka City Museum (used google translate a lot to read all the info) before returning the rental car. Did some shopping in the Daimyo area, and had some [nice cocktails at Bar Oscar] (https://maps.app.goo.gl/7mcVbaSP4z2ZnUm69). My husband tried the vegetarian burger at Mos Burger and I ate takoyaki. Night One in Fukuoka.
– *Day Nine: Fukuoka.* Saw Kushida-jinja Shrine, Canal City (where we basically did a snacking lunch at different places), and the Sewage Museum (on a whim–it’s just one room but it’s free. A fun place to stick your head in). Had snacks at Ishimura Manseido. Went to the Asian Art Museum, Shofuku-ji, and Hakata Machiya. Walked past lots of yatai stalls but didn’t go in because it seemed to hard to navigate with a vegetarian. [Train sushi dinner] (https://maps.app.goo.gl/i27iR9uUM47ZU5o5A). Night Two in Fukuoka.
– *Day Ten: Morning flights out.*
**Driving Tips/Notes:**
– Japan requires an International Driver’s Permit, which was easy to pick up at a AAA office.
– I have some experience driving on the left side of the road, so mostly I prepped by learning what the road signs looked like (particularly the stop sign, since that seemed the most important and is not always written in English). I did use google street view to preview what the route out of the car rental place would look like, which was helpful.
– Many of the roads around Kurokawa were single lane and curvy. They have mirrors to help, but mostly you just have to go slow. People share the road well.
– There was some iciness on the road around Mt. Aso since it was winter. These roads are thankfully not single lane. I have experience driving in the winter and it didn’t seem like conditions were going to get better (at least not for a few months), so I just threw on the hazard lights and went slowly. Everyone else around us also had their hazards on and was going slowly, so it felt very low pressure.
– I couldn’t successfully figure out how to get the Kyushu Expressway Pass when I booked the car, so I just asked for an ETC card (you pay what you used when you drop the car off). In total we paid $63.93 (USD) in tolls.
– People definitely speed on the highways. I went somewhere between speed of traffic and the speed limit and haven’t gotten a ticket yet, but we’ll see if one shows up in the mail!
**Food Tips/Notes:**
– Train sushi places are surprisingly vegetarian-friendly and a great way for non-veg people in your group to get sushi while ensuring the vegetarians can still eat! Even places that weren’t marked on Happy Cow had a few (or more) cheap vegetarian options like egg, spring onions, eggplant, etc.
– I learned how to say “my husband is vegetarian” and immediately followed it up with “egg, milk, and cheese are okay. Fish dashi is not okay.” to anticipate what was always the next question. Saying this second part in Japanese helped a lot. It seemed to relieve the staff, because they didn’t have to worry that they would serve us the wrong thing because they’d messed up the right English word.
– We found Nagasaki the hardest place to eat vegetarian (maybe not surprising; the specialties are largely not vegetarian). Maybe we were doing something wrong or misunderstood, but even when we found a place we thought would have a vegetarian option, we kept getting turned away from restaurants because they were too busy, we couldn’t speak Japanese, they were unexpectedly closed, or some other unknown reason (resulting in the full body x). There were also just fewer choices than other places we went, like Tokyo and Fukuoka (also not surprising since it’s a much smaller city). I would make restaurant reservations if I were to go again.
– CoCo Curry and 7-11/Family Mart/Lawsons remain solid backup options in cities like Nagasaki and Fukuoka (not so much in smaller places like Kurokawa).
– I picked Ryokan Sanga in part because I’d heard they could make vegetarian accommodations (while not being 100% vegetarian so I could have non-vegetarian meals). Knowing this, I just booked as if neither of us were vegetarian and then emailed them after to make them aware of my husband’s dietary request and switch his meal plan over. It was very easy and they were happy to accommodate.
– With that said, my husband wasn’t that thrilled with Sanga’s food. Partially, I think this had to do with a matter of taste and season (winter means there was so, so much konjac and so few other vegetables in season), but partially, they often did the thing where the vegetarian food is the same as the omnivore food minus the meat/fish rather than substituting in a vegetarian flavor or making a different vegetarian dish. With that said, we knew options would be limited for a kaiseki meal and I wouldn’t necessarily do anything differently.
– Not in Kyushu, but I do have to throw out a plug for Yamaichi Bekkan on Miyajima which made an incredible vegetarian kaiseki meal for my husband (and a pretty good non-vegetarian meal for me too. I’d thought I would have to eat a vegetarian meal too, but when we got there they clarified with us and we got different meals).
**Misc Tips/Notes:**
– The Hiroshima Peace Museum is definitely more polished and larger than the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum. I think both are still worth going to, but doing both in one trip was a little much and invited comparison (I would pick the Hiroshima Peace Museum if you only do one).
– Different onsen in Kurokawa have different closure days for onsen hopping; your ryokan should have a daily map telling you which baths are open for the day. I say this for people who have specific onsen in mind they want to go to; you may need to adjust.
– I want to highlight Ryokan Kounoyu! The onsen there (along with the onsen at Sanga where we stayed) were my absolute favorite. I didn’t see it talked about online and ended up going for my last stamp on kind of a whim since it was the closest onsen to Sanga. I’m so glad I did! It’s a small uphill walk to get there, but it’s worth it. The women’s section has a gorgeous large outdoor bath with a seat carved into a rock and other lovely features. It also has a standing onsen with a bamboo pole, so if you want to experience that, this is a great option! There’s even a footbath you can use for mixed gender groups or if you’re waiting for someone in the men’s section to finish (or vice versa). The staff who I spoke to had limited English, but honestly it’s not like much communication needs to happen. You give them your bath pass, they stamp it, and they point you in the right direction.
by forgetquick