Hi, JapanTravel! Will be in Fukuoka for 8 days this Spring with the following itinerary (1 day each):
Fukuoka-Yanagawa-Nokonoshima Island Park-Takeo Onsen-Yufuin-Kurokawa Onsen-Nagasaki-Fukuoka
I wanted to confirm some things:
1. I am thinking of using Northern Kyushu pass for 5 days, but I have to go to Kurokawa Onsen for a day and I hear it’s inaccessible by train. With the route that I’ll take, will a 5-day Northern Kyushu pass be better, or will it be better to have 3-day Northern Kyushu+3 day SunQ pass? Will stay in Hakata all trip.
2. Does the Yufuin no Mori train from Hakata to Yufuin allow unreserved seating? If not, how early should I reserve the seats? Also, are there routes that would need reservation like the Yufuin no Mori?
3. If I do use SunQ pass, do I have to reserve buses everytime? Anything I should be warned about the pass?
Thank you in advance! ☺️
1 comment
1. Just look at the cost. But first of all, if you plan to do all these places as day trips from Hakata, start by looking at how long it would take to go. Kurokawa onsen is like at least 3h20 one way. If you decide to go, just check the price of the bus. Problem is, I see it more as a combination of bus and train as opposed to go by bus only. The bus would likely cost around 2000 yen each way from the most convenient train station. So I think that the bus pass is not a good value as you would need to use bus exclusively and use it for other trips.
2. [https://www.jrkyushu.co.jp/english/train/yufuin_no_mori.html](https://www.jrkyushu.co.jp/english/train/yufuin_no_mori.html) As you can see in the train configuration, all seats are reserved. You can book it up to one month in advance. There is other scenic trains around Kyushu, for example there is one between Takeo onsen and Nagasaki. Most of them are exclusively reserved seats. You can also book tickets for any limited express or shinkansen.
3. No, but you would have to reserve it if it is a highway bus. They use this website for the booking, so if the bus is on that site, you need to book it [https://www.atbus-de.com/](https://www.atbus-de.com/) other local bus would not need a booking.