Hey all, here’s my itinerary where I arrive at Fukuoka on Oct 1 and fly out from Tokyo on Oct 20. This is my second trip to Japan. A couple questions:
* Based on this itinerary what JR pass do you think would work best? I’m thinking of doing the 14-day and starting it at Beppu. I’d have to pay out of pocket for the first 5 days. Any better options?
* I really like nature, markets, local crafts, local foods, and onsen. If you recommend anything specifically around these themes for any of these cities, I’d appreciate it <3
* Anyone who’s taken the Sunflower Ferry – any thoughts? Would you recommend it?
* I’m considering shortening Fukuoka to 2 days and adding a day to Osaka. I only put 1 day in Osaka right now because I wasn’t a fan when I went the first time. Any thoughts?
* Any overall tips for this trip would be appreciated, thanks in advance
**Oct 1-4: Fukuoka**
\- Arrival at Oct 1 at night (don’t count it as a day)
\- Dazaifu Tenmangu
\- Yanagawa River Cruise
\- Canal City
\- Fukuoka Castle + Ohori Park
\- Kushida Shrine
\- Hakata Old Town
\- Yatai
\- Fukuoka Tower/Momochi Park
\- Nanzoin
\- Food: Ikkousha, ShinShin, mentaiko (a dish)
**Oct 5-6: Kurokawa Onsen**
\- Leave from Fukuoka to Kurokawa early on Oct 5
\- Onsens
**Oct 7-8: Beppu (take overnight ferry to Osaka on Oct 8)**
\- Leave from Kurakawa to Beppu on Oct 7 \~11am
\- Onsens and Hells
\- Take overnight ferry to Osaka
**Oct 9: Osaka (wasn’t a huge fan last visit so I’d rather spend time in Kyoto)**
**Oct 10-12: Kyoto**
\- Leave from Osaka to Kyoto on Oct 10
\- Gion
\- Fushimi Inari
\- Arashiyama?
\- Food: Wajoryomen Sugari, Teppanyaki Manryu
**Oct 13: Kanazawa**
\- Leave Kyoto to Kanazawa on Oct 13 morning
\- Kenrokuen
\- Kanazawa castle
\- Nagamachi district + Nomura Ke
\- Omicho Market
\- Higashi Chaya-gai District
\- Kazoumachi Chaya District
\- Food: Seafood
**Oct 14: Takayama and stop at Shirakawa en route**
\- Shirakawago stuff
\- Sanmachi Suji District
\- Yoshijima Heritage House
\- Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine
\- Kusakabe Folk Crafts Museum
\- Takayama Jinya
\- Walking course
\- Food: Known for Wagyu – Kyoya, Center4 Hamburgers
**Oct 15-20: Tokyo**
\- Arrive 15th at night
\- Mostly just explore the following neighborhoods: Shimokitazawa, Nakameguro, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Ueno, Harajuku, Omotesando, Tsukiji, Ginza, maybe Akihabara
\- Watch shopping
Thanks and appreciate the help 🙂
3 comments
If you weren’t a fan of Osaka, why bother going there at all? But if you’re thinking of giving it a second chance it’d be helpful to know what you didn’t like about it.
You may have too much time in Fukuoka and could consider a day or half day trip to Yufuin from Beppu.
If you’re taking the Sunflower ferry from Beppu you won’t need the JR pass in Kyushu and can start it from Kansai instead, if it’s even worth the cost.
You’ll need to do the legwork, calculate each trip’s cost, add them up and see if any pass will pay off, somehow I doubt it…most certainly not a 14 day one.
Day 13 and 14 are not feasible. You need at least 2 nights in Kanazawa and Takayama each
You won’t arrive in Kanazawa before noon, you probably have to drop off your bags etc… not nearly enough time to see all that stuff.
Shirakawa-go is a half day trip. So you‘d only have an afternoon in Takayama which ofc is way too less time for all that activities you planed there.
I would cut one day in Fukuoka and you planned 2 days in Kurokawa onsen and Beppu each? 1 day for Kurokawa onsen is enough + 1,5days for Beppu.