Hello everyone, this is my pretty close-to-final 2-week itinerary plan so far a week in Kyushu and a week in Korea. We will go last week of March through first week of April with the goal of enjoying spring weather, flowers, and cherry blossoms!
We will utilize the JR north kyushu pass for the Nagasaki and Kumamoto day trips from Fukuoka.
Some main questions I have are:
Should I buy the JR North Kyushu pass in advance, or is it safe to buy at the Beppu station counter. Also, is it necessary to reserve the Shinkansen in advance?
Any Japan entry requirements I need to know other than passport and the website with QR codes?
Any experiences with the JR beetle ferry from fukuoka to busan? I mainly worry that it would be cancelled
Any recommended nightlife areas or shopping streets in Beppu? (I know its a chill onsen town)
I won’t include the South Korea part of this trip on this sub, I will post that on the koreatravel sub if any of you guys have some suggestions there!
March 27: Beppu
– Fly from Austin TX to Oita Airport. From there go to our accommodation in Beppu, which will be near Beppu station. We’ll be flying Delta to Haneda, then have a connection to JAL to Oita, landing at 6:45
3/28:
– Visit the 7 hells, eat at the hot spring steam restaurant Jigoku Mushi
– Walk to Hyotan onsen
– Walk to Kifune castle
– Thinking about going to Yukemuri Observatory after Kifune, is this worth it or do they have similar views?
– Return to airbnb, maybe visit Sol Paseo Ginza at night, how is this place?
3/29:
– Yufuin Floral Village
– Beppu ropeway
– Explore Global tower and beppu park area for the rest of day. Are there any good nightlife areas or shopping streets in Beppu?
3/30: Fukuoka
– Wake up and head to Fukuoka. We plan to activate a 5 day North Kyushu JR pass on this day as we plan to take day trips from Fukuoka to Kumamoto and Nagasaki in the coming days.
– Canal City
– Kushida Jinja and Tochoji Temple
– We will stay near Tenjin station
3/31:
– Start the morning at Maizuru and Ohori parks (and hopefully observe some Sakura)
– Go to Dazaifu Tenmangu, the neighboring Tenkaiinari shrine, and the Kyushu museum
– Return to Tenjin, explore malls (underground mall, shintencho district, iwataya, mistukoshi)
4/1:
– Start day at Nanzoin
– Go to Marine World Aquarium and Uminonakamachi Seaside Park, we plan to rent bicycles
– Kadota Chouchin-ten lantern painting
– Explore fukuoka with extra time in evening, any recommendations?
4/2: Kumamoto Day Trip
– Go to Kumamoto Castle
– Maybe visit the nearby Inari shrine and Katō shrine
– Sakuranobaba Josaien
– Shimatori and Kumamon Square
– Suizenji Jojuen Garden
– Depending on time, we may go to the botanical and zoological park
– Return to Fukuoka
4/3: Nagasaki
– Wake up and head to Nagasaki. This would be the 5th day of the JR pass and cover our day trip here.
– Glover Garden and Sky Road
– Maybe visit Gunkanjima? Not sure if it would be worth it, what do yall think? If not, we may do Yūtoku Inari shrine instead.
– Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown
– Finish at Inasayama Park for night view
– Return to Fukuoka
4/4: Busan
– Go to Fukuoka Airport (we would fly korean air at 11am to Busan) We also considered the cheaper ferry, but fear that it could be cancelled if we get unlucky with weather.
Any tips, suggestions, or input is appreciated!
2 comments
Nagasaki resident here. Glover Garden has a nice view (not as nice as from closeby [Nabekanmuri Park](https://maps.app.goo.gl/AFh3gBnf1gDCMKWP6), mind you, but it’s a pain getting there without a car. In my opinion the best view over Nagasaki, better than Inasayama), but do you have any reason to go there over the atomic bomb museum? It’s in my opinion the only must-see here, with Dejima and Glover Garden being skippable options, if you insist on Gunkanjima. (Dejima not being skippable if you are interested in Japanese History of course)
I don’t like Gunkanjima too much, it takes too much time from a day trip,. Personally I would plan the day around Atomic Bomb museum, Dejima, and Glover Garden. City -> China Town -> Dejima -> Glover Garden can be easily done on foot, then take the tram to the atomic bomb museum. I would suggest Gunkanjima only for a 2 day trip.
Inasayama night view is pretty good too round the day, just pack warm jackets, it’s windy up there.
That looks like too much stuff on most days. Getting to the temple at Nanzoin, seeing it and getting back to central Fukuoka takes about half a day for instance – I left my hotel near Hakata Station at about 9 am and returned to Hakata station in time for lunch.
I recently caught the Beetle ferry from Busan to Fukuoka, and it left Busan exactly on time and arrived in Fukuoka slightly late. The weather conditions were very smooth though. I enjoyed the trip (though the arrangements at Hakata Ferry Terminal are terrible), but suspect that flying would be the better option in winter.
I had no difficulty recently using unreserved seats on the Shinkansen from Fukuoka to Kumamoto – it wasn’t very busy either way.