I’m planning my second trip to Japan this January with my girlfriend, and this time we want to spend some time in Kyushu and see the quieter/more traditional side of Japan. Here’s our rough itinerary:
Day 1: Fly into Nagasaki
Rent a car at the airport
Visit Nagasaki sights (Peace Park, Dejima)
Stay in minshuku in Yukinoura (small village south of Saikai)
Day 2: Visit Ikeshima
Take ferry from Saikai port
2nd night in Yukinoura
Day 3: ???
Day 4: Fukuoka
Drop off car
Canal City
Check into business hotel in Fukuoka
Day 5: Fukuoka
Day trip to Dazaifu: see Komyozenji, National Museum(?), Tenmangu shrine
Day 6: Fukuoka(?)
Teamlabs Forest(?)
Nanzoin Temple
Day 7: Fly to Tokyo
Does this overall look good? I have two specific questions about what to do here:
Where to stay on Day 3:
I’m looking for a pleasant town or city in Saga/Fukuoka/Nagasaki prefectures where we can stay one night and maybe hang out with locals/practice my Japanese conversation skills (I’m N4/low N3 right now). Onsens would be cool but not critical. Does anyone know any nice places? I’ll have a car, so remoteness isn’t an issue. I’ve seen Ureshino Onsen, Takeo Onsen, and Karatsu suggested, but there isn’t a ton of info available, so if you’ve visited any of these or similar places, please let me know your experiences!
Is 3 nights too long in Fukuoka?
I’ve heard great things about Fukuoka’s food, but would we run out of things to do by day 3? We are going to Tokyo afterwards so we’ll get our fix of big city energy there. We could also go to Teamlabs in Tokyo instead of in Fukuoka.
Thank you for your help!
by King_Rickon_Stark