Hi all, I’m visiting Kyushu in November with my wife and our then-11 month old baby. This is our itinerary below, idea being Fukuoka > Beppu > via Mount Aso to Kumamoto > Fukuoka road trip.
D1 Sat: Fly in. Fukuoka (Ohari park)
D2 Sun: Fukuoka (Day trip to Dazaifu)
D3 Mon: Yufuin (Drive from Fukuoka to Yufuin. Visit Yufuin Floral village)
D4 Tue: Yufuin (Day trip to Beppu – Aquarium + Monkey park)
D5 Wed: Yufuin road trip > Kokonoe Yume Grand Suspension Bridge> Kikuchi gorge > Kumamoto (2.5 hour drive in total)
D6 Thu: Kumamoto – Castle + Gardens
D7 Fri: Kumamoto > Fukuoka (Shinkansen 30 mins)
D8 Sat: Fukuoka (Uminonakamichi Seaside Park, general shopping)
D9 Sun: Flight home
Have a few questions, that perhaps a few kind souls can advise on?
1. Yufuin vs Beppu (Oita prefecture)
\- which of the places would you guys recommend? Yufuin looks really quaint but Beppu seems to have more attractions.
2. Drive from Yufuin > Kumamoto
\- planning to visit Kokonoe Yume bridge and Kikuchi gorge along the drive. Do you think this is a good itinerary or is there another route with sights that people normally do? Reason why we are aiming to do so is because our baby love nature, so wanted to see a bit of Mount Aso.
\- is it difficult to drive around Mount Aso in November?
\- Also, are there are places stay around Kikuchi gorge / Mount Aso that would allow us to break the drive up as we are traveling with an infant? Total drive will be 2.5 hrs if we go Yufuin > Kumamoto. We can then complete the drive to Kumamoto the following day.
3. Kumamoto
\- any other recommendations for a 3rd place to visit other than fukuoka / beppu? we chose kumamoto because its convenient to travel via JR line from Fukuoka but open to other ideas. Would kurume be a good place to visit?
Thank you everyone in advance!
2 comments
Yufuin is nice but it is very small, whereas Beppu is an actual city. Depends what you’re looking for really – I preferred staying in Beppu, but I was also a young guy travelling by myself, if you’re looking for somewhere more quiet and relaxing then Yufuin is still lovely.
Nagasaki was my favourite place that I visited in Kyushu – but it’d be slightly harder to fit into your itinerary.
The drive shouldn’t be too bad in November, particularly if you stay on the main road and not seek out hiking trail heads (a lot of trail heads are quite high up and not busy, so it tends to freeze over more easily and stay frozen over).
There are many hotels and resorts around Aso area – I have stayed at Senomoto Kogen Hotel and it was absolutely gorgeous. They have a big bath, as well as an open air bath that overlooks stunning scenery.
I prefer Yufuin over Beppu for its coziness, it is much smaller, but it also means it doesn’t trigger my FOMO – I see the kinrin-lake and eat my way down that ONE Main Street and it’s done.
I second Nagasaki as it is my favourite city in Kyushu (most well rounded). From Kumamoto you can take a ferry over to Shimabara and drive to Nagasaki, then back to Fukuoka from there.
Nagasaki has the most beautiful night view, and Glover Park, and the atomic bomb memorial parks. A compact city with a good mix of sights. And sara-udon (dish udon? But it’s more like deep fried noodle with a clear gravy)