I’m travelling solo for this trip and this is not my first time in Japan. But first time at Fukuoka / Nagasaki. This is the route I have in mind, but unsure to add Nagasaki in
18/07: I will reach Fukuoka in the morning by ferry from Busan (New Camellia Line). Taking the day easy: doing some work in a cafe, visit Fukuoka Art Museum, Fukuoka City Museum, Momochi seaside park and end the day explore Tenjin area
19/07: Start the morning at Ohori Park, Fukuoka castle ruins, shop at canel city Hakata. In between will chill and people watch a cafe
20/07: Nanzoin Temple and back to rest, Fukuoka Asian art museum later the day. Nagasaki here? Elaborated below
21/07: early afternoon train to Hiroshima, luggage in 72h locker at station. Ferry to miyajima and stay over at miyajima. Will take the rest of the day to explore such as Omotesando shopping street, Itsukushima Jinja Gojūnotō and end the day near Itsukushima Shrine for sunset
22/07: explore morning of miyajima, Itsukushima Shrine at hopefully low tide, walk around the quiet streets before heading to town in afternoon for Hiroshima peace memorial museum. Will be staying over near Hiroshima station
(I have visited Hiroshima & Miyajima before, but didn’t have enough time for the memorial museum. Main reason for this trip is to complete the museum and have a stay over at miyajima for a night to catch low tide in morning)
23/07: take early afternoon train to Kyoto.
Questions I have:
- There seems to be so much to do at Fukuoka but I picked those places only. I’m someone who can spend hours at museum or beach for hours and take things slow. But I’m thinking to visit Nagasaki, mainly the Atomic bomb museum and peace park, meaning I will cut my Fukuoka further. If I’m visiting, which is more feasible?
Plan A: leave Fukuoka on 20/07 in morning and stay over a night at Nagasaki. Leave Nagasaki on 21/07 mid afternoon to Hiroshima, then head to Miyajima. This means I have 20/07 and 21/07 morning at Nagasaki. But Fukuoka to Nagasaki then Hiroshima is taking the trip back then forwar
Plan B: day trip from Fukuoka on 20/07 to Nagasaki. Probably only have a few hours there, enough to explore the atomic bomb museum and peace park, might be to rush a little.
- Fukuoka to Hiroshima, i’m wondering if I should stop for an overnight Beppu and reach Kyoto on 24th July instead. Reason is because I thought it might be a waste to skip pass all the other places since I’m “around the area”? But so much to do at Beppu, 1 night may not cover all and I should come back another time and spend longer here
Appreciate any suggestions and recommendations!!
by Vjanett
9 comments
I would recommend that you give yourself more time at Miyajima. We were in Fukuoka,Hiroshima this past March. We enjoyed the island much more and found more to do there, than the two cities. We spent a day on the island and wished that we had stayed overnight.
If you have visited Hiroshima before definitely go to Nagasaki!
You can maybe add Nagasaki on the 21st, then Shinkansen early in the morning of the 22nd to Hiroshima and do your Hiroshima activities between the 22nd and the 23rd in the morning.
Nagasaki is a really nice city with good, laid back vibes. 3 months in Japan and it’s the most different of all other cities I’ve been to. I would recommend 2-3 full days to soak it in
Miyajima low tide is 3-5pm on July 22, unfortunately.
Nagasaki is a beautiful place filled with very kind people. If I were you I will dedicate 1-2 whole days for Nagasaki alone.
highly recommend Nagasaki for the sake of enjoying the vibe! plus many places to visit if you’re into history. btw, I currently live in Beppu, which places do you want to go?
Biased because I live in Nagasaki but I think it has a lot to offer besides the atomic history. Great vibes here! I think you can skip Fukuoka castle ruins, it’s currently just a construction site (they are rebuilding the castle I think)
Why not just spend more time in Fukuoka and Nagasaki while skipping Hiroshima since you’ve been there before?
Definitely keep in Nagasaki – I think you could probably leave on the afternoon of the 19th after Ohori park/castle ruins (skipping the planned Fukuoka activities on 20/7). It’s a very chilled out city, and there’s a lot of history to explore – not only the atomic bomb museum and peace park, but all of the Dejima/dutch area and historic Chinatown.
I probably wouldn’t try for Beppu – I also tried to do it in a short period of time (combined it with Yufuin) and it’s a little tricky to get around without a car so spent more time on a bus than actually visiting anything. It’s better saved for another trip.