Hi Everyone! I will be traveling in Northern Kyushu as solo in Autumn. It will be my first trip to Japan so I’m pretty excited. I made a post here before and people gave good suggestions so I remove some places in my itinerary and rearranged it.
I typically don’t like to stay in a place for just one night but I can’t think of other ways to explore the city without wasting time. Please let me know if I’m being too ambitious. I would love to get your thoughts about it as well.
**Nov 11: Arrival in Fukuoka Airport**
* Arrival around 7:30pm
* Check in hotel around Hakata and have some dinner
* 🛌 Hakata
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**Nov 12: Fukuoka**
* Explore the city and buy sugoca card
* 🛌 Hakata
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**Nov 13: Nanzoin & Fukuoka**
* Visit Nomiyama Kannonji Temple for autumn viewing
* Go to Nanzoin Temple
* Explore night life in Tenjin
* 🛌 Hakata
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**Nov 14: Yame**
* Visiting 太原のイチョウ for the ginkgo trees
* Explore area and shop for some good tea/matcha (need some recommendations)
* If possible, visit Yame Central Tea Plantation
* 🛌 Hakata
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**Nov 15: Kurokawa Onsen**
* Check out hotel and go to Kurokawa Onsen
* Explore the town and onsen hopping
* 🛌 Ryokan in Kurokawa Onsen
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**Nov 16: Yufuin**
* Depart from Kurokawa Onsen to Yufuin around 10am
* Explore the area, food trips and shop for some Ghibli stuff
* Visit Kirin Lake
* 🛌 Yufuin
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**Nov 17: Beppu**
* Depart at Yufuin by mid day and go to Beppu
* Global Tower and explore the city
* Onsens: Myoban Yunosato Onsen, Hyotan Onsen, Mugen no Sato onsen (I can only probably visit 2 at most. Any suggestions which are the best?)
* 🛌 Beppu
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**Nov 18: Beppu → Kumamoto**
* Beppu Ropeway & Shidaka Lake
* Explore the city
* Depart Beppu at 3pm for the Aso sightseeing train
* Dinner at Kumamoto
* 🛌 Kumamoto
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**Nov 19: Kumamoto**
* Kumamoto castle, Sakura no baba Josaien, Suizenji Jojuen Garden, & Monkey D. Luffy statue
* Travel to Shimabara during sunset via ferry (Where can I find timetables for this? Is reservation required for this?)
* 🛌 Shimabara
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**Nov 20: Shimabara, Nagasaki**
* Explore Shimabara
* Unzen Hells (is this better than Beppu? If not I’ll just explore the city)
* Travel to Nagasaki
* 🛌 Nagasaki
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**Nov 21: Nagasaki**
* Atomic Bomb Museum, Dejima, Glover Garden
* Leave for Fukuoka at night
* 🛌 Fukuoka
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**Nov 22: Fukuoka**
* Daikozenji Temple for autumn viewing
* Explore fukuoka city
* 🛌 Fukuoka
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**Nov 23: Fukuoka**
* Akizuki Castle Ruins (is it worth it?)
* Explore Fukuoka City
* 🛌 Fukuoka
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**Nov 24: Departure**
* Buy souvenirs and explore city
* Travel to airport and depart
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**Questions:**
* As I’m planning to go to Yame, I was wondering if you have any recommendations on where I can buy Matcha/teas to bring home?
* Since I will be bringing my XL luggage with me (I don’t have any other sizes), I am planning to ship my luggage between hotels wherever I go. Is this service available to all hotels? Also, I understand that when shipping, I might receive my luggage the next day but is there a way to make sure that I’ll receive it on time? I’m quite worried because I might miss it.
* In Beppu, are there any onsens worth visiting? I listed 3 onsens above that I wish to visit but I’m unsure which one is worth it (since I already been to kurokawa onsen)
* Regarding the ferrys in Kumamoto to Shimabara, do I need make reservation for that?
* Is visiting Unzen hells in Shimabara better than the hells in Beppu? I’m planning to visit only one of those.
* I initially wanted to stay 2 nights in Nagasaki but I wanted to visit the best autumn spots in Fukuoka. What are the autumn spots in Fukuoka that is worth visiting that is not that far? What do you think of Akizuki castle ruins and Daikozenji temple?
* Is my itinerary a bit rushed? Is there too much travel time? If so, any suggestions on how to improve it? Do you think I need to cut some places in my itinerary?
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Thank you so much!
4 comments
>Unzen Hells (is this better than Beppu? If not I’ll just explore the city)
They’re… kinda different. Beppu is mostly colorful steaming ponds, while Unzen is on the sides of a mountain. Unzen is closer to Hakone, if you’ve been there. Technically, Unzen can be enroute on [a bus from Shimabara to Nagasaki (via Isahaya)](https://en.shimatetsu.co.jp/bus/search/), as an alternative to taking a train around the peninsula, so you don’t really have to skip it.
>In Beppu, are there any onsens worth visiting
Beppu’s main attraction isn’t a hot water bath, but rather the [numerous colorful little pools of hot water (locally called jigoku, or hell](https://www.google.com/search?q=beppu+hells&tbm=isch)) that just serve as tourist attractions. I think it’s more special the fact that all these pools are privately owned, and isn’t some sort of national park. Also, in the right conditions, Beppu can [look pretty surreal from a distance](https://www.jtbtravel.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1.jpg), as if the entire town is steaming. Can’t recall any other onsen that does that.
>Regarding the ferrys in Kumamoto to Shimabara, do I need make reservation for that?
Doesn’t seem like it, but you need to be there 20min before the ferry departs. (“ご予約は不要です。出航時刻２０分前までに受付をお済ませください。”). [Timetable](https://www.kyusho-ferry.co.jp/world/index_en.html).
Honestly, if your planning choice was “extra night in Fukuoka vs Nagasaki”, then put it into Nagasaki. I just spent two nights in both (quite literally left Fukuoka two days ago) and I was really pushing hard to get two nights into Fukuoka and yet I had to miss some things in Nagasaki. “Explore the city” is a half day thing, although I’m not considering travel time to your autumn leaves views (because I don’t know them well). Combine autumn viewing wherever you can to give yourself a bit of breathing room in Nagasaki.
Regarding the Beppu hells, if you’re time limited, I recommend just doing Umi and Kamado Jigoku, and they can be done in under an hour.
Regarding luggage, I know you say you’ve only got one size, but your trip isn’t *that* long. It would be much cheaper for you to buy a smaller suitcase now that you can carry with you than it would be to forward luggage between each and every hotel.
Wasn’t a big fan of Beppu. The steam everywhere looks cool but the colorful ponds are not somewhere in nature but basically build in the city like an amusement park.
If you weren’t planning on going up to Mt Aso I’d definitely recommend that more than Beppu. Even when it’s foggy or raining it’s better imo
I did the ferry the other way around, from Shimabara to Kumamoto, nice thing is that there was a free shuttle to Kumamoto station. No idea if or where it would be to go to the port tho. No need reservation.
Unzen hells will take time to reach but is quite impressive. But if you go, you won’t have much time to spend in Shimabara itself as it take a while to reach Unzen.