Travelling with my parents to the kyushu region and would like to gather feedback on my itinerary. Other recommendations may also be useful.
Generally, we love onsens and my parents are not able to walk long distance. We have JR pass for the trip and do not intend to rent car.
We dislike moving luggage, so for the entire trip, we are based in Hakata and plans to make day trip, though knowing that it may be better to spend 1 night in other prefecture say Nagasaki.
Day 1
Coming from Himeji ,arriving in Hakata in noon
Plan to visit Ohori park and explore tenjin underground mall.
Taking it chill for the day
Day 2
Day trip to yufuin taking the yufuin no mori train at 9.17am (will make reservation once i obtain my pass in japan)
kirin lake and walk around the town
if time permits, going for musouen onsen
As there are 2 trains departing from yufuin back to hakata, should i take the earlier timing at 3+ or 5pm+?
Day 3
Intend to start the day early so we have full day in Nagasaki
Nagasaki
Bomb Museum
Chinatown
Hanamachi Shopping Arcade and Mt Inasa
Know this will be very long day and tiring, but since we have the JR pass, why not? Not sure if we are able to slot in an onsen at Inasayama Fuku no yu
Day 4
Cant decide between Itoshima/Kagoshima/Kitakyushu day trip
Preference for Itoshima given the nature sight but not exactly sure whether places are accessible via public transport.
Kitakyushu seems like the most straight forward itinerary of visiting kokura castle, Kawachi Wisteria Tunnel and Karato Market, Tanga Ichiba Market
Day 5
Dazaifu and Yanagawa day trip , taking the boat ride
Look like Dazaifu was highly recommended and so intend to lump the two places together. Is this too rush or manageable?
Day 6
Intend to visit another park and do some last minute shopping for snacks. Any recommendations?
5 comments
I stayed a week in Fukuoka/Hakata/Itoshima for a week recently. I never needed the JR Pass I just used Suica. From my understanding JR pass is only worth it if you’re going on many long distance train trips. But if you already bought it I guess it doesn’t matter.
If you choose Itoshima I would just rent a car in Fukuoka and drive because a lot of the train stations in rural areas won’t be in the center of the towns (unless you’re in the larger of the small towns like Chikuzen Maebaru or Karatsu where you might be able to catch a bus from the station) you will have to walk or ride a bike around. I had a bike but it took significantly more time to get anywhere. I would rent a car if you plan to go to Itoshima or surrounding rural areas.
Another great site for a day visit from Hakata is Nanzoin. It’s the site of the largest reclining bronze Buddha. You can catch the subway from Hakata.
Edit: Shopping you can do a lot of that at Hakata Station. The train station is 10 floors and the connected Bus Station is also 10 floors. Lots of restaurants, shopping, etc. you can also jump on a train and go to Canal City which is like a big outdoor mall.
I would recommend a trip to Kumamoto. Easy access by train from Hakata and a great garden (Suizenji). The Nanzoin is also worth the trip. We stopped in Kita-Kyushu but I won’t say it was a memorable experience. I would skip it if I were you. The wisteria tunnel could be nice but when the flowers are in bloom. Don’t forget to taste the ramens and motsu nabe (tripe stew). Have a nice trip !
We are going to Kyushu next month and have almost similar itinerary. Will be based in Hakata and make day trips to Yufuin, Nagasaki, Kagoshima and Kumamoto
A couple of things that I found so far that might be useful for your trip
– Yufuin no Mori 9.17am is the most popular train. Tickets are available to be purchase or booked by JR Kyushu Pass holders and often sold out one month before. Although we have JR pass, we are thinking to buy the ticket separately for that 9.17 train online 30 days out rather than reserve the seats after arriving in Japan
– read that Nagasaki is a hilly city so that might be an issue for your parents and you might think about taxis
Fukuoka is a really interesting city, so I’d suggest not just using it as a base. There are lots of interesting temples and shrines and a lively arts scene. The Fukuoka Art Museum is excellent. The castle ruins are also interesting, and there’s a lively shopping district near them. It’s one of my favourite Japanese cities, and includes the best features of larger cities.
Nagasaki is awesome. Make sure to visit glover Hill and dejima, fascinating history. Chinatown area is a bit meh, nuclear bomb area is nice but 1 hour is enough.