33 Days Itinerary Transport

Hello -

My husband and I will be in Japan for 33 days and are looking to travel 11 nights in Kyushu, 2 nights in W. Honshu, 12 nights in Shikoku, and end up in Osaka and Kyoto for the remaining time. We enjoy outdoor scenery, hiking, surfing, and experiencing local foods, markets, culture while taking in a few of the most important sites. Our biggest challenge is coordinating the various options for rail passes so that we can maximize public transport and see sights to hit. My routing thoughts are below, and wondering if you have any suggestions on how best to route given complexities of transportation passes:

Start Kyushu: (combination of local bus pass on coast, Kyushu pass for 5 days, then initiate JR 21 day rail pass)
-Miyazaki: 2 nights (Aoshima, Obi, Nichinan coastline) - local bus pass
- Kagoshima : 2 nights (Sakurajima, Ibusuki, Chiran, Makurazaki) - start Kyushu pass
- Kumamoto: 2 nights ( Aso, Kurokawa 1 night) - on Kyushu pass
- Nagasaki: 2 nights (could ferry from Misumi? and then train to Fukuoka)
- Fukuoka: 2 nights (take in good food and night life)- start JR pass

Fukuoka to Mijajima/Hiroshima by train (1 night/2 days)

Hiroshima to Shikoku - 12 nights JR pass?
Ferry Hiroshima to Matsuyama
- Dogo Onsen
- Kochi - spend time with a friend
- Kompira-san & Iya Valley
- Takamatsu

Shikoku to Osaka & Kyoto: JR pass

Would love your suggestions or recommendations.
Thank you

I have not been to shikoku as i cannot attest to the use of the JR Pass or trains there. I also cannot say whether the JR Pass is worth the distance travelled. If you do Fukuoka to Hiroshima to Kyoto you can use the pass. But with Shikoku in the way, are you taking a 14 day pass?
Note that if you are travelling from Fukuoka to Kyoto within 7 days it is likely to be cheaper to purchase a single ticket.

If it is anything like Hokkaido, i wouldnt use the pass.

You could end your Kyushu trip at Beppu or Fukuoka. From there you can take a ferry to Hiroshima/Shikoku.

I'd do a quick check on hyperdia.com to get an idea of your train fares versus the cost of a rail pass.

You seem to have found a good way to do Kyushu without a JR Pass. I'd imagine that there's a similar way to do Shikoku. We've only spent a few days in Shikoku (arriving via ferry from Hiroshima, as you are planning), but the only train we needed was the (slow, and I assume relatively cheap) train from Dogo to Takamatsu.

I'd imagine that you could save the price of a rail pass whilst in Shikoku and use that cash to rent a car for a couple of days to get off the beaten track a bit.

If you're going from Shikoku to Honshu, I can't suggest highly enough that you consider taking the ferry from Takamatsu and stopping off at Naoshima en route (see the main Japan-guide website for details), before going on to Okayama for connections to the main shinkansen line.

Also - where do you fly in/out of?

If you arrive in Tokyo and your first journey is down to Kyushu, this will change the economics quite a lot.

I am not sure whether JR Kyushu Rail Pass pays off, but as stated, nation wide Japan Rail Pass will not pay off, I suppose.

From Fukuoka (Hakata) to Hiroshima (Miyajimaguchi)

http://goo.gl/6n9iTq

9560 yen

Ferry to Matsuyama is not covered by the JR Pass, so you don't need to consider it.

From Matsuyama to Kochi

Exceptionally, this section is faster when using highway bus.

http://www.jr-shikoku.co.jp/bus/businfo/nangoku_ex/matuyama.htm

2.5 hrs, 3600 yen

This is not covered by Japan Rail Pass.

After Kochi you may want to use All Shikoku Rail Pass.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357_shikoku.html

9700 yen 5 days

After Takamatsu, JR Kansai Wide Area Pass may be useful.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_08.html

8500 yen 5 days.

thanks for all the overnight posts to my questions! On our way into Japan, we have the flexibility with our ticket to fly from Haneda to any of the airports down south without extra cost - so we were thinking to fly to the furthest point - Miyazaki and then start moving around Kyushu from there. You have also given us another option to consider, by ending in Beppu and take the ferry to Shikoku, and proceed north up the coast to Matsuyama, and then could take a very back and forth to see Hiroshima/Miyajima - I will need to price out all those ferries/times to see if that might make better sense. Thank you also for the idea not to miss Naoshima. Great add to our itinerary.

For anyone who has done the route in Kyushu from Kumamoto to Aso and Kurokawa... is that difficult or arduous via public transport, and is the best way back to Nagasaki to backtrack through Kumamoto and ferry it, or to train it... likewise, would it be timewise more efficient to continue onward from Kurokawa to Yufuin and then train over and down to Nagasaki. I was just not clear on how difficult that route is by public transport (we're trying to avoid having to drive unless essential). Would much appreciate any thoughts on this part.

Much thanks,
Laurel

We're just back from 10 days or so in Kyushu. Spent two (separate) nights in Kumamoto, and used it as a place to hire (and return) a car and go to the Kurokawa/Aso region fro a couple of days.

I liked Kumamoto a lot. It's not as if it's got a "must-specifically-travel-here-to-see" attraction, but it's a really nice town with a great castle. We met some friendly people, saw a fantastic exhibition of urushi laquer craft in the crafts museum near the castle, spent an amusing 30 mins in the library at the CAMK (contemporary art museum where the shelves have spaces for people as well as books, and which also has small pieces by James Turrell and Yayoi Kusama - both of whom have major works on Naoshima so worth dropping by if you're planning to go to Naoshima), and found a good variety of food in the covered arcades downtown, as well as making my wife and daughter happy with the chance to do some relaxed browsing and shopping for Japanese socks and fabric.

We stayed downtown (I'd definitely choose downtown rather than around the JR Station - I just think there's more to do, and you're nearer to the main sights. It's only a couple of kms between downtown and the station, and the trams are very efficient, but I prefer downtown). We stayed at the Dormy Inn (good free breakfast, hot spring bath on the top floor, washing machines and driers if you need them, friendly staff, etc) in a room with tatami area, and I really liked it. Bit more expensive than a standard business-type hotel, but a lot better.

I know you're not wanting to hire a car, and I have no interest in persuading you to do so, but I will say that the pro's of having a car in that region were:
- being able to stop off at some of the smaller towns en route
- being able to take some of the amazing twisty mountain roads
- being able to do a circuit of Mt Aso with ease, stopping off if the clouds lifted for a minute
- being in control of your own agenda and timings

The only negative to having a car, imho, was that the speed limits were very often 50kmh, even way out in the countryside, which is pretty slow progress (it took circa 2-2.5 hrs to get from Kumamoto station to Kurokawa - but we were choosing the twistiest roads so I guess that maybe added half an hour). I guess if you were on a bus, it would also be making quite slow progress.

Thanks for sharing your insight Winter Visitor! Curious what your itinerary was and what you covered during your stay - and did you use the car for most of the sights you covered? What was your average daily rental cost?

Did you find the roads well signposted to move about easily?

Thanks!

Hi
We used a 7 day JR Pass, starting in Okayama, then 2 days in Kagoshima (1 day car hire to go to Chiran), train to Kumamoto, 2days car hire to go to Kurokawa/Aso to stay in lovely ryokan, then Kumamoto for another night (dropping the car), then train to Nagasaki and Fukuoka, from where we flew home via Seoul. For our last journey, we had to buy tickets as the rail pass had expired, but we knew that and by using Hyperdia to check train fares beforehand, we knew that the pass was paying for itself and we were able to see which 7 days saved the most money.

Did all car hire via ToCoo (there's a link on the main J-G site in the car hire page), who charge a little extra compared to a Japanese site, but have an English language interface and support, plus we're travelling with a child and it was much clearer to do it through them and be sure we were asking for the right kind of child seat - you probably don't have that concern. We've hired happily through them before and I think the extra is worth it. We hired a Nissan Cube (which I specifically asked for because we don't get them in the UK and I think they're cool). The daily rate was cheap...certainly less than gbp50/day, but I can't exactly remember. Cheaper cars are available. I just wanted to drive an oddity. Remember speed limits are low...you don't need a big engine.
You get gps with the car if you ask for it, for a small extra charge.. They work on phone numbers as well as postal codes, so we never used a map. Hotel phone numbers, or those for a museum or whatever, were all you needed. You just get the rental staff to show you how to do the input, and maybe film it so you remember it, and you're away.
Other than thank you'd and apologies, and words to describe foods and drinks, we pretty much have no Japanese.

You might want to fly into Kagoshima. It is way more south than Fukuoka. There is this to and fro pass that allows Shinkansen travel from Kagoshima tp Fukuoka.

So if you want you can totally skip Miyazaki.

Or you could start at Kagoshima
2 nights
Plus Kirishima
1 night
Then off to Miyazaki
1 night
Super sonic to Beppu or Oita
1 night
Cross over westwards via Aso to Kumamoto then to Fukukoka.
Or if you want to skip Kumamoto (not recommended), you can again use the super sonic direct to Fukuoka.

Having a car in Kyushu is convenient. But besides Kumamoto/Aso region and maybe Kirishima it isnt worth it.
Miyazaki has some nice views along the nichirin coast and a car is preferable.

But considering nothing else nearby Miyazaki, the cost of the car rental is a turn off. Unless, you do Kirishima and Miyazaki together. The ride through mountians and forests is a calming experience

Thanks Joshua! So would you suggest not doing Nagasaki? Sounds like your alternative route is still doable by rail - Kagoshima-Kirishhima-Miyazaki and rail it up through Oita to get back down to Aso and power through to Kumamoto, then direct line it to Fukuoka... woudl you suggest if we wanted to do Nagasaki do it as an overnight trip back and forth from Fukuoka? The trains you refer to for the route, covered under the Kyushu full rail pass?

Really appreciate your advise!

We quite liked Nagasaki when we visited a couple of years ago, and I have a specific reason I'm trying to get back there a couple of days (for a trip to Hashima Island). The Town is quite nice and as the first port opened after the closed nation ploicy, has some interesting influences. The Peace Museum has a very different feel than the one in Hiroshima (less censored and raw).

I have rented a car in Kyushu as we needed transport from Beppu to Autopolis (near Aso). Only 90km, but 2 to 2.5 hours each way. GPS was very good and the rental was organised at the hotel for two 12 hour blocks (one rental per day, not a two day or overnight) because it was normal and cheaper.

I'd definitely do at least 24 hrs in Nagasaki.

The A-Bomb museum there is (in my opinion) concentrated more on the specific effects on the city itself rather than the wider background and implications of atomic weapons in general, but it's still powerful.

Glover Garden is, in my view, rather run down (the buildings especially), but it does give a fantastic view over the city and the display (and films) of festival floats in the hall as you leave the gardens is worth the price of admission on its own.

Dejima is very informative, and well presented. They've done so much work there since we were initially there circa 10 years ago. If you're thinking of going, give serious consideration to reading "1,000 Autumns of Jacob de Zoet" by David Mitchell before you do. It's an excellent book in its own right, but it's based on Dejima and is great preparation for a visit there.

It's a bit of a lengthy trip to get to Nagasaki (from Kumamoto), since you've got to either go up to Shin Tosu and double back on yourself, or go over by the ferry and then use buses/local trains. Depending on your time, you could make a virtue of this by taking in Unzen or one of the coastal onsen towns around there. From Fukuoka, it's still a fair trip (2.5-3 hrs, iirc), so if you're wanting to go there I don't think it necessarily makes more sense to go there from one place rather than another.