Hi,
currently planning my third trip to Japan for May (after Golden Week) – with a focus on Kyushu.
I would use a combination of a bus ticket to Beppu, JR Kyushu South Pass (5 d) and JR Kyushu Pass (7 days) and the local city passes where it make sense to do so. Not planning to rent a car (solo traveling and would need to translate my drivers license)
Any thoughts on the itinerary? I do love food, Japanese bath culture, nature and history.
Current itinerary idea:
13 May- arrival via ferry around 7 pm Busan, stay in Fukuoka
14th May – bus to Beppu (2 nights), onsen hopping
16 May- Beppu to Kumamato for 3 nights
Day trips: Aso, Amakusa
19 May Kumamato to Kagoshima for 3 nights
Day trips: Sakurajima, Ibusuki
22 May Kagoshima to Nagasaki for 3 nights
Day Trips: Shimabara, Goto Islands
25 May Fukuoka for 3 nights – milestone birthday on Saturday so would look for something special to do that day
May 28 – late afternoon flight
– since there is no 14 day Kyushu rail pass, does the itinerary make sense with a bus trip to Beppu and then using a combination of passes?
– Or would it be make more sense to start with Nagasaki to Beppu as there are no direct trains from the south?
– Beppu seems to be extremely touristy, would another onsen town would make more sense?
– Day trips are optional, plan would be to have 1 or 2 full days for day trips and explore the city around arrival / departure day depending on the duration of travel time
Thanks very much for any suggestions
2 comments
I did not felt that Beppu was that touristy. It mostly felt like a city that just happens to have a lot of onsen. If you want to have the ambiance of a small onsen town, like a place that only exists because of onsen, where people stroll around in yukata. That would be touristy in the sense that only people in vacation go there, but I see nothing negative about it. I went to Kinosaki onsen that is also a small onsen town with a great ambiance at by far I preferred it over Beppu.
Doing Beppu Kumamoto you can do Aso as a stop in between.
I’ll be in fukuoka for a milestone birthday this year too! I’m going to GohGan in the 010 building. Two world famous chefs opened a new restaurant together. https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/news/gaggan-anand-is-opening-a-new-restaurant-in-fukuoka-this-december-110922