Northern Kyushu Itinerary Check

Hello everyone! Will be travelling to Fukuoka at the end of March until first week of April 2023 (9Days) and wanted to check with the group if this itinerary is ok:

So far, my to-do’s would be to visit to as much sakura-viewing spots as possible, do some hiking (Aburayama Forest I figured would be manageable and has good views), and onsen hopping at Kurokawa. Hoping to see your recomms on what to improve in the itinerary, or if it’s too tight! (I usually have long days when travelling and pick a few chill days in between. I’m quite flexible on the other parts of my itinerary so long as I do those 3 to-do’s.)

Was also wondering whether SunQ Pass or the Northern Kyushu Pass would be a better fit or both? I plan to stay in Fukuoka for the whole trip except when I go to Kurokawa. Also for Kurokawa Onsen, if I could get some tips on where to go onsen-hopping/eat. Planning to stay at Yumerindo, is it good?

Day 0
– [ ] Arrival, Check-in
– [ ] Dinner nearby Nakasu

Day 1

– [ ] Nishi Park
– [ ] Terumo Shrine
– [ ] Maizuru Park
– [ ] Fukuoka Castle Ruins
– [ ] Tenjin Central Park
– [ ] Kushida Jinja Shrine

Day 2
– [ ] Nokonoshima Island Park
– [ ] Uminonakamichi Seaside Park

Day 3
– [ ] Aburayama Citizen’s Forest
– [ ] Yanagawa River Cruise

Day 4 (Saga)
– [ ] Karatsu Castle
– [ ] Yutoku Inari Shrine
– [ ] Mifuneyama Rakuen
– [ ] Uranosaki Station

Day 5 (Kurokawa Onsen)
– [ ] Onsen Hopping
– [ ] Stay at an inn in Kurokawa Onsen

Day 6 (Kumamoto, Hita (?)
– [ ] Kumamoto Castle
– [ ] Aso-Kuju National Park (?)
– [ ] Hita (?)

Day 7 (Oita)
– [ ] Ride Yufuin no Mori
– [ ] Yunotsubo Kaido
– [ ] Kinrin Lake
– [ ] Yufuin Floral Village
– [ ] Hells of Beppu (Kannawa District)

Day 8 (Nagasaki)
– [ ] Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum
– [ ] Nagasaki Peace Park
– [ ] Huis Ten Bosch

Day 9 (Fukuoka and Departure)
– [ ] Kawabata Shopping Street
– [ ] Tenjin Underground Mall
– [ ] Go to Fukuoka Airport

It’s my 2nd time in Japan but I’m doing a solo trip this time. Your recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much in advance!

1 comment
  1. Your order kind of make no sense to me.

    It is also not super clear on where you would stay each day, but I see things like this.

    You could do a kind of loop around northern Kyushu, so start in Fukuoka, then go counterclockwise to Karatsu. Taht is alrady a 2h train ride in the morning… Yutoku Inari is about 2h30 away… I mean, each places you listed are far away from each other. I would do one of them and finish the day in Mifuneyama Rakuen, I assume for Teamlab. Then the closest city in your list is not Kurokawa onsen, but Nagasaki.

    Nagasaki in one of the city where I kind of regret staying for only one day… and you want to include an amusement park that is 2h away… nah, forget it. Actually it, do one or the other, Nagasaki city or Huis Ten Bosch.

    Next logical stop is Kumamoto. It itself, the city of Kumamoto can be worth a day, going to Mount Aso would take a big part of a day and Hita make no sense.

    Next you would move between Kumamoto and Oita. Here is the logical stop by Mount Aso maybe in the morning, but you need to be in the bus early to Kurokawa onsen.

    Then Move to Yufuin OR Beppu. Visiting all the hells of Beppu will take most of a day.

    Overall, you seems to underestimate the distance between the locations.

    Yes, using the rail pass could make sense, but in that case I would try to focus on places that are mostly accessible by train, try to reduce the amount of required train. And that is a maybe, you would have to calculate to make sure it would be cheaper than individual tickets. It could even make sense to have the full Kyushu pass for the extra 2 days it gives.

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