Hello! Just wanted to get a sanity-check on the structure of my itinerary, mainly the timing & order of things.
Huge shout out to this community and the Discord, everyone is so helpful and there’s a lot of great info!
I’m specifically hoping to see if I’ve not made any silly choices or missing something/somewhere that I should be considering!
|Date|Location|Detail|
|:-|:-|:-|
|Friday, May 10|Tokyo – Asakusa|Staying at The Gate|
|Saturday, May 11|Tokyo – Asakusa||
|Sunday, May 12|Tokyo – Asakusa||
|Monday, May 13|Tokyo – Asakusa||
|Tuesday, May 14|Tokyo – Asakusa||
|Wednesday, May 15|Travel & Stay Fukuoka|Bus to Haneda airport early morning in time for flight Haneda to Fukuoka around 10am, Staying at The Blossom Hakata|
|Thursday, May 16|Fukuoka – Hakata||
|Friday, May 17|Fukuoka – Hakata|\[Potential day trip to Nagasaki\]|
|Saturday, May 18|Travel & Stay Kumamoto|Shinkansen to Kumamoto, Pick up car and travel around Aso or Takachiho, or delay car pickup and experience Kumamoto|
|Sunday, May 19|Travel & Stay Kurokawa Onsen|Drive to Kurokawa Onsen|
|Monday, May 20|Travel & Stay Kagoshima|Drive back to Kumamoto, Shinkansen to Kagoshima, stay the night|
|Tuesday, May 21|Travel & Stay Yakushima|Airport bus limo to Kagoshima Airport, early in the morning, flight to Yaushima, pick up car|
|Wednesday, May 22|Yakushima||
|Thursday, May 23|Yakushima||
|Friday, May 24|Travel & Stay Tokyo|Fly back to Kagoshima and then Tokyo, Staying at Sunroute Plaza|
|Saturday, May 25|Tokyo – Shinjuku||
|Sunday, May 26|Tokyo – Shinjuku||
|Monday, May 27|Tokyo – Shinjuku||
|Tuesday, May 28|Tokyo – Shinjuku||
|Wednesday, May 29|Tokyo – Shinjuku||
|Thursday, May 30|Travel & Stay… Home||
33M, Solo traveller, second Japan trip (first was Tokyo/Osaka/Nara/Kyoto), able to drive with IDP, so planning on renting a car when it makes sense.
I love hiking, walking around cities and getting lost, eating as many different and delicious things as possible, and generally experiencing new things. Really enjoy beautiful architecture but I am not into museums/historical sites as much (but appreciate they often go hand in hand!). Yakushima was a must and I had to squeeze the middle of my itinerary to make it work with an existing Kurokawa onsen reservation. I have a lot of days in Tokyo as I’m considering a move there for a year for work, so trying to experience something new with Kyushu whilst still having ample time to be in and around Tokyo.
I have my daily plans set up for the specific areas, but would love some input around:
1. Add any day trips for my Fukuoka stay, I am considering maybe a day trip to Nagasaki, or just enjoy those days in Fukuoka – seems like there’s plenty to do!
2. Regarding the middle packed 3-4 days around Fukuoka/Kumamoto/Kurokawa
1. Pick up car directly from Fukuoka instead, drive to Takachiho Gorge or Aso, and enjoy a nice long drive, and spend the night around there before heading to Kurokawa Onsen, would involve an extra $60 USD charge for dropping off in Kumamoto
2. Stay with current plan, Shinkansen from Fukuoka/Kumamoto, then have the option to
1. pick up car a day early and check Aso to see if that would be a good day trip, and potentially stay up there if possible
2. pick up car a day early and check Takachiho, and drive back to stay at Kumamoto for the night
3. do not pick up car early, and just enjoy staying in Kumamoto
3. Is driving around Kumamoto > Aso/Takachiho/Kurokawa at night a risk? I tried looking up whether they were well lit and whether it was safe driving when it gets dark, or should I try to avoid any driving before the evening?
Thanks!
by srwork