Hi everyone, I'm planning a solo trip to Kyushu with some days at the end in Osaka from October 2-23. I like usually like to stay in one location a bit longer and take my time to explore, and am mainly interested in general sightseeing and exploring nature.
This will be my 6th trip to Japan.
What are your thoughts on this itinerary? Is it feasible and does it make sense? I tried grouping things based on their proximiy to eachother, but am open to suggestions.
Fukuoka – October 2 – 10
Oct 2:
- Land in Osaka and take the bullet train to Fukuoka
- Check into hotel in Tenjin
- Explore surroundings a bit, but go to bed early to be well rested the next day
Oct 3
- Take it easy by staying in Fukuoka itself and exploring the city, focussing on Ohori park and its (wide) surroundings: Fukuoka castle ruins, Fukuoka tower, Teamlabs forest, Canal city during the early evening.
Oct 4 – Visit Itoshima
Oct 5 – Munakata shrine + hiking on Munakata Oshima island
Oct 6
- Nanzoin Temple + surroundings
- Narufuchi dam + hiking (optional, might take it easy and spend the remainder of the day relaxing)
Oct 7 – Hiking on Aburayama
Oct 8 – Visit Iki island (take the boat from Hakata ferry terminal)
Oct 9 – Day trip to Nagasaki
Oct 10
- Check out of hotel
- Visit Dazaifu Tenmangu
- Check into ryokan Daimaru Besso in Chikushino (found a great deal on Booking, getting me an enourmous room with in-room hotspring + dinner and breakfast for 210 EUR for one night)
- Depending on the time left before dinner, do a short hike on the nearby Mt Tenpai
- Relax in onsen
Kagoshima – October 11 – 13
Oct 11
- Move to Kagoshima
- Visit the castle ruins and Reimeikan museum
- Go up Mt Shiroyama to get a first view of Sakurajima
Oct 12 – Day trip to Sakurajima
Oct 13 – Undecided between Sengan-en (& surroundings) or a day trip to Kirishima
Miyazaki – October 14 – 18
Oct 14
- Train to Miyazaki
- Take it easy around town, maybe sit on a beach
Oct 15
- Go to Kaeda valley in the morning
- Aoshima island in the afternoon
Oct 16 – Aya Castle + Kawanaka Natural Park
Oct 17 – Udo Jingu & Obi castle town. Maybe add Sun Messe Nichinan, although I'm not that interested
Oct 18 – Somewhat undecided. Nobeoka seems like a fun destination for canyoning, but I'm still figuring out the logistics of getting anywhere outside of the city in a reasonable time. Any advice, or nature retreat alternatives are welcome.
Osaka – October 19 – 23
I've been to Osaka 4 times already, so there is not much left for me to really discover. I'm mainly staying here out of convenience (flight back home departs from KIX) and because there is a chance I'll be meeting up with a longtime Japanese friend. If we do meet, any of the days might be replaced with hanging out with him.
Other than that I'll be doing day trips, with some bar hopping in the evening. Potential day trips (I'll just do whatever I feel like the most):
- Kurama – Kibune hike & onsen
- Arashiyama > taking the Romance train to Kameoka > Cycling around and visiting a few local sake shops that I know of
- Otsu/lake Biwa
- Hiroshima
I'm pretty flexible. With my current plan most days are interchangeable or can be discarded entirely if the weather is bad, you guys have better suggestions, I meet other people and hang out with them or something random happens. The only fixed day is October 10, since I don't want to give up the ryokan no matter what. Preferably I also go to Nagasaki on the 9th to take advantage of the All Kyushu 3-day pass for that day trip and for the train ride to Kagoshima.
by Dry-Seat6370