Hi everyone, I will be spending 10 days 9 nights in Kyushu.
Looking for feedback in my planning for Kyushu itinerary. I will be visiting only the southern part of Kyushu in this order: Fukuoka -> Beppu/Oita -> Miyazaki -> Kagoshima
**Day 1: Kyoto -> Fukuoka**
Take afternoon Shinkansen, maybe 1pm, from Kyoto to Hakata station (arnd 3hrs). Reason for not taking a flight even though it is slightly cheaper, is mainly because of the flexibility in time and that I do not have to rush for the flight.
Reach Fukuoka around 4pm, check in hotel and explore night area for food.
**Day 2: Fukuoka**
I want to visit Nanzoin Temple and thus will do a day trip there. I believe by noon I will be back. If anyone visited here, appreciate it if you can share how much time you spent here too.
Spend late afternoon in nearby cafes and night activities will be visiting nearby night activities.
If time permits, I would like to fit in another location to visit during the late afternoon.
**Day 3/4: Fukuoka -> Beppu**
Take the train from Hakata Station to Beppu Station (arnd 2hrs). Spend the 2 nights enjoying onsen places, and nearby attractions. Unsure if Yufain is worth the trip, saw alot of comments saying it’s like a tourist trap kinda place.
**Day 5: Beppu -> Miyazaki**
On this day, I would activate the ***3 day Southern Kyushu JR Pass*** so that I can travel to Miyazaki and subsequently Kagoshima at a cheaper price. Take the train from Beppu Station to Miyazaki Station (3 hrs +).
Reach Miyazaki in the afternoon, check in and explore nearby night places.
**Day 6: Miyazaki**
Visit Aoshima and Udo Shrine. Learnt that Miyazaki Mango is a must try, any place to buy from?
Tbh I’m not really sure what else there is to do in nearby Miyazaki. Will not be going to the famous Takachiho Gorge as it seems quite far to get to.
**Day 7: Miyazaki -> Kagoshima**
Last day of my ***3 day Southern Kyushu JR Pass.*** Will reach Kagoshima from Miyazaki (arnd 2hrs +).
Reach in the afternoon, check in hotel and nearby night places.
**Day 8: Kagoshima**
Visit Sakurajima for the day. Maybe want to try renting a bike and cycling here. Return back to Kagoshima in the evening and just chill for the night
**Day 9: Kagoshima**
Visit Sengan-en Garden. Looking for other places to go for afternoon + night.
Note: I really wanted to visit Yakushima too but I’m not sure if a day trip seems feasible to enjoy it. Also saw some past posts about ferries being cancelled etc, so I don’t think I want to have that kind of stress during my trip
**Day 10: Kagoshima -> Tokyo** (END)
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All in all, I’ll be basically spending 2 nights in each of the the places (except kagoshima 3 nights). I understand I will spend 2-3 hrs every 2 days on travelling. Appreciate all comments on my itinerary planned and if there is anything that I can add/remove about the trip, do let me know too!
TIA everyone 🙂
2 comments
>Day 3/4: Fukuoka -> Beppu
Take the train from Hakata Station to Beppu Station (arnd 2hrs). Spend the 2 nights enjoying onsen places, and nearby attractions. Unsure if Yufain is worth the trip, saw alot of comments saying it’s like a tourist trap kinda place.
Both are tourist traps. Beppu has more Korean/Chinese tour busses, but Yufuin have them as well. I would take Yufuin over Beppu any night though as when we stayed in less expensive places in each, the food was better in Yufuin. Do a night in each and draw your own conclusions.
I don’t have any recommendations on where to stay in either place though as we mostly stay at dog friendly hotels and/or at bougie places my mother in law pays for.
Definitely should try Miyazaki mango, super expensive but worth the experience. My sister in law who lives in Miyazaki just gets them from her regular grocery store but a whole mango is likely too much for one person. Miyazaki tourism website mentions this place to try their mangoes and it has good reviews so… https://www.miyazaki-fruit-ohno.com/
I think that Fukuoka city itself is worth spending at least a day.
Beppu is a city with a lot of onsen, but I kind of fail to see the appeal over a smaller onsen town. The big attractions are the 7 hells, but when I ask for recommendations of things to do appart from it, it was mostly to get out is Beppu. I have not been to Yufuin but from what I get it willl be closer to a small onsen town, so of course the whole economy of the town is tourism. I would no go as far as to say it’s a tourist trapn as I would expect it to have similar price as any other small onsen town.
Miyazaki city was ok, but not that much to see in the city itself.
Udo shrine is a bit of a pain to reach by public transport. You will have to go by bus, but it is not running frequently, so you have to time it extremely well. I think there is a bus discount ticket, but weekend only. Bus pass by Aoshima from Miyazaki then end in Nichinan.
Yakushima is nice but would not go less than 2 nights…. Orr one if you take first ferry in last out and still can be tricky. Yes ferry can be canceled but only if there is bad weather.
I took about 12 days to do Kagoshima to Beppu, including most of what you listed and Takachijo and mount Aso. So overall it’s not that I realistic you just need to properly time when you move to optimize time spent seeing things.