Hello first time here and planning to travel to Japan next year. It’s not official, but I’m thinking of doing some sort of road trip from Osaka to Kumamoto/Nagasaki and spend a few nights at some towns. I want to pass by the likes of Awaji Island, Matsuyama, Motonosumi Inari Shrine and then end up at Mount Aso. I just want to experience some cities on the way that aren’t as popular and sort of in a different way since I love driving. Then if possible from Nagasaki I can catch the train back to Osaka and pass by Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Kobe. Or would all of this be waay too expensive and hard and can just use the JR pass?
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Driving all the way from Osaka to Mount Aso will take longer and be more expensive than taking the train. Thats not to say there is no value in your idea- but you’ll have to start there. Road trips in Japan can be fun, and it is neat to stop off in places that not many people get too. I will say that personally I find road tripping the best when you are pretty far from the bullet train lines, so you KNOW you are in the boonies.
So all of that said- is your base idea worth it? In some ways, yeah. I think what I’d like to do would involve skipping Motonosumi Inari, but would be a really solid trip. Pick up the car and then drive across Awaji to Shikoku. Take a few days to drive along Shikoku, certainly making time for the Iya Valley. Grab the car ferry from Yawatahama direct to Beppu. It’s a super pretty journey, and a unique way to make the trip across to Kyushu. Then you can drive through Yufuin on the way to Mount Aso. Theres a ton of neat places around here that are more car accessible than train accessible (Like Kurokawa Onsen). If you’ve got some time- you could really dig in as you drive and have a great time. There is some lovely driving along the Aso Caldera. I don’t know that I’d drive all the way to Nagasaki, you could probably drop the car in Kumamoto if you wanted.
All of this could easily fill two weeks, and honestly more if you took your time. There’s an enormous number of places to stop for a night en route, and some really interesting drives.
Good luck!
Traveling by car will give you much more freedom than other methods and will be much easier to plan without scheduling train or bus times. But it will be quite expensive. You’ll have to get an international license, rent a car for which I believe there are extra fees for dropping it off at a different location to the one you started from, almost all highway routes including of course the Akashi Kaikyou bridge to Awajishima are toll roads, gas, parking etc.
I would say it’s probably worth it due to the freedom it gives you but I wouldn’t envy driving through a big foreign city where you don’t know the traffic rules like Osaka. Countryside and small town driving is a delight though.
Can’t comment on a long road trip but I recommend renting with Toyota Rent A Car. Lots of choices of cars, super easy. You can add the ETC reader for tolls and stuff and it’ll automatically be part of your final bill.
The longest I’ve driven personally was just Shinjuku to Gunma prefecture. But it was nice to explore some areas and meet a friend In takasaki.
I’m planning a similar trip but my route back is a ferry because one way car rental is much more expensive.My starting point is Kansai international Airport, then Kobe over the Akashi Kaikyo bridge to Shikoku , Hiroshima and then Kyushu and back with the ferry from Miyazaki to Kobe ( over night) Planned time is 22 Days +/-.There are a bunch more of Waypoints!!
The big thing about the cost is that on top of car rental and gas, you have to keep in mind toll and the extra fee to leave the car in a different city as where you took it, and parking. If you do it solo, I am pretty sure it will cost much more than a rail pass. If you are in a group of 4, it might be easier to justify the cost of the car rental.
Yes, it can make sense to rent a car to go to area that are legit hard to access or where the public transport are not as good. However, I would just rent a car to move around that area rather than move across the whole country.
When building your itinerary, I understand you want to add different cool places, but it also have to make sense. For example, how do you plan to get out of Shikoku ? Do you plan to look for a car ferry to go back on Honshu or shikoku, or do you want to trackback to Imabari from Matsuyama to cross the shimanami kaido ?
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Motonosumi Inari Shrine is quite a detour too and it probably mean you watch Abroad in Japan. So while yes is look kind of cool, this is also not the only Inari shrine with a lot of gates.
I did consider stopping by Motonosumi Inari when I moved from Shimonoseki to Izumo, but when I saw how hard it is to access by public transport, I did not think it was worth the hassle. I just found something that would be easier to do and I ended up stopping at Taikodani Inari-jinja in Tsuwano.
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If it was me, I would check to fly in Nagasaki, do a road trip around Kyushu and if you do not return the car in the same city, at least it will be cheaper to return it within Kuyshu than returning it in Kansai. Next, decide what you want to see the most outside of Kyushu and plan how to do it. For example, you can take a ferry from Beppu to Shikoku to go to Matsuyama and from there a ferry to Hiroshima.
Drop Motonosumi and find a different Inari shrine. For example, Yūtoku Inari in Saga could totally be part of the Kyushu road trip.
And when you reach Osaka, there is no problem to do rend a car and do a day trip to Awaji.
If your goal is mostly random exploration, by car is the best. You can see so many more things and have so much more freedom. What I usually do is take shinkansen or plane to the general area, rent a car, and make a big loop or one-way trip if you’re willing to pay the one-way norisute fee.
Relying on train and bus schedules forces you to waste a lot of time just sitting around or rushing to get somewhere. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve driven by a place on a whim, found out it was more than I expected, and ended up staying there much longer.
All this is doubly true when traveling around the inaka.
Can most of the places you want to visit be accessed by train? If there is not some purpose and need to driving in Japan I would avoid it. I’ve been here for 4 weeks, moved from Florida. Japan is not car friendly as far as tolls and gas prices. Also the trains are super convenient once you understand the system.
I am debating buying a car at all depending on where I finally locate a home.
Car travel is definitely a different experience than all the places public transport will get you. It can be off the beaten path and really intimate.
The local rest stops along the way are always a treat, especially if that region is known for something. The highways are fairly bland though and I would suggest trying to find scenic routes to focus on.
Just in terms of rail travel – everyone says the JR pass saves money but you should add up the individual train journeys to make sure. If you’re only taking a few trains then paying for them individually may be cheaper
I rented a car for rural Japan but probably wouldn’t recommend it for cities. Parking is a pain.
The JR pass and the trains are wonderful. I do not plan returning until 2024. The travel industry there needs rebuilt once they open up. I always say to visit less places and enjoy them more fully. Osaka is ok but not on a par with Tokyo and Kyoto. Hiroshima is nice.
I will do… Sometimes…i Hope so