Japan Trips & Travel Tips

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Polarmodder on 2025-07-04 16:54:16+00:00.

Long time lurker here, I found the information on Kyushu travel rather sparse, so I thought I would give a brief summary of my experience in the region for anyone considering going.

Context: second trip in Japan, group of three friends (M, 20s), interested in history / culture, two of us speak basic Japanese (1 / 2 years of college level classes). None of us can drive so we only relied on public transit / taxis. Our schedules only overlapped in summer, hence visiting in June. We adhere to the creed that holidays are meant to be restful rather than intense, so you won't see many early mornings or very packed days (some activities could have definitely been condensed into a single day rather than spread out).

TLDR: Best region I've been to so far (despite the heat). Very warm people, nice sights, and way less tourists than in Honshu.

Itinerary: Fukuoka (5 nights), Nagasaki (2 nights), Kurokawa (2 nights), Beppu (1 night)

Fukuoka (Dazaifu + Nanzoin, Kagoshima, Yutoku Inari)

Day 0:

Arrived by plane, airport is right next to the city center (took 15mn by taxi to get to our AirBnB close to Kushida Shrine / Hakata Station). Varied sim stores and exchange counters present at the terminal if needed.

Day 1: Exploring Fukuoka

• Spent exploring the city under very heavy rain. Highlights included: Kushida shrine, Sumiyoshi shrine, castle ruins for city views. Canal city was only worth a visit due to its proximity to our AirBnB (good place to buy a second pair of shoes when your trainers are completely drenched), but otherwise IMO not worth the detour (I mean, it's a mall). Found the Nakasu food stalls kinda overrated (was in Taipei prior to this, so may have been biased due to the great night markets there), instead really enjoyed going into small izakayas / local shops in the Gion / Kushida shrine area.

Day 2: Dazaifu + Nanzoin

• Left BnB at 11:30. Took the train (from Tenjin) to Dazaifu, overall pretty easy, only IC cards are needed (total 40mn ish). Note that the transfer at Futsukaichi station may be quite short: if you understand Japanese the conductor will announce the platform from which the Dazaifu-line local departs from, otherwise mentally prepare for a few minutes of confusion and running as iirc the signage is not the best.
• Dazaifu shrine was nice but quite busy. Highly recommend visiting the far calmer nearby Tenkai inari shrine (only a 10-15mn walk away from the main shrine). Gave up on walking to Kamado shrine as the scalding sun and 32 degree weather was starting to make us regret the previous day's shower.
• Took a taxi from Dazaifu to Nanzoin temple (30ish min, iirc around 4-5k yen). From what I know, apart if you are part of an organized tour it is basically impossible to get (reasonably quickly) from one to the other by public transit. Plenty of taxis were waiting in front of Dazaifu station.
• Reclining Buddha was cool, and the temple complex had various interesting sections. Was surprisingly empty (probably due to the fact that it had began raining heavily again), but by now we had come to grow accustomed to being drenched (imo preferable to being boiled by the sun). Station is right opposite the temple, train runs every 30mn, only IC is needed. Got back to Fukuoka around 5pm.

Day 3: Kagoshima

• Left the BnB at 9:50, took the 10:20 Mizuho, arrived in Kagoshima at 11:36.
• Meiji Restoration museum was enjoyable, though very little English (furigana present if your Kanji are as rusty as mine). Cool statues and memorials are littered around the area, definitely worth walking around if you are interested in the time period. Found a very welcoming tonkatsu restaurant nearby.
• Terukuni jinja and the castle ruins are skippable, apart if you want a Kagoshima goshuin for your collection.
• Took a taxi from the castle ruins to Sengan-en (15mn, 1k yen). Used the GO Taxi app. Garden was worth the rather steep entry fee, with the visit of the residence being particularly interesting. Not particularly busy, and plenty of good photo spots with Sakurajima in the background. Variety of stores with local goods (tea, sweets...) present.
• Took a taxi from the garden to the ferry terminal (15mn, 1k ish yen). Ferry to Sakurajima leaves every 15-20mn, and was basically empty (we had the top deck to ourselves). You pay once you arrive on Sakurajima. Once on the island, we walked around a bit, visited Tsukiyomi shrine (which has a nice small observatory), before hopping back on the ferry. Despite not being able to do too much due to time constraints + lack of a car, taking the ferry to and from the island was a magical experience which I definitely recommend.
• Rode the streetcar back to the station. Note that they DON'T take nationwide IC cards, so make sure you have coins to pay the fare at the front when you get off. Was back in Fukuoka around 8:30 PM.

Day 4: Yutoku Inari Shrine

• My two acolytes ditched me to go shopping, so I took the 1:16 PM Kasasagi Ltd Express from Hakata to Hizen-Kashima on my lonesome. Quite the picturesque ride, with lush ricefields and sprawling mountains dotting the countryside.
• Was lucky enough to find a taxi waiting in front of the station, otherwise I think there is an hourly bus that goes to the shrine. Took 10ish mn, cost 1k yen.
• Very pretty inari shrine, with a nice view of the region at the top. Met two Japanese students studying the UK who showed me around, and then dropped me back at the station. Seems the inari god was truly on my side!
• Didn't want to wait hours for an express, so took the first local train that came to nearby Kohoku station, and from there took an express back to Hakata. A JR ticket machine is present Hizen-Kashima station, and will give you the fastest itinerary, so just follow its recommendations (though do be careful not to accidentally book a Shinkansen segment between Shin-Tosu and Hakata, it will only save you 10mn but cost an extra 2-3k yen + add an unnecessary connection).
• Overall a very worthwhile and relaxing day trip if you enjoy shrines and countryside views. Got back to Hakata around 6pm.

Day 5: Nagasaki I

• We couldn't forward our luggage to Nagasaki, so the train ride from Hakata was a bit of a pain. I tried to book oversized luggage seats, but they were all sold out / unavailable. I thus settled for green car, hoping that the additional cost would be offset by an emptier carriage. Relay Kamome had small bins over each seat, as well as a luggage rack which somehow fit all our stuff. Kamome also had completely empty luggage racks. I was not sure if we were allowed to use them, but (unlike oversized luggage spaces / luggage racks on the Tokaido shinkansen) saw no signage. On both trains, the green car was maybe 15% full, in both cases us being the only ones with suitcases.
• Settled in before visiting Oura Cathedral and the surrounding area**.** A good introduction to the cosmopolitan town that is Nagasaki as well as its deep history, and particularly unmissable for all Fate fans (iykyk). Shrine next to the cathedral was very pretty, though mosquito filled.

Day 6: Nagasaki II

• Left BnB at 11ish. Started with the Confucius temple, a quiet and interesting visit. Then proceeded to the Dutch slopes, though only contemplated the quaint houses from the outside. Ate lunch in Chinatown, which is worth a walk through but not much else IMO.
• Headed to Dejima, which, though mostly reconstructed, is nevertheless an intruiging glimpse into the history of the city and the lives of traders under the Sakoku decree.
• Walked to Sofuku-ji temple. Very nice looking, and was completely empty. Definitely worth the detour.
• Took the streetcar (nationwide IC can be used) to the one-legged Tori gate. Nearby Sanno jinja is skippable IMO (mosquito heaven).
• Took the streetcar to the Peace Park. Didn't visit the atomic bomb museum as had recently been to the Hiroshima one. Still an interesting visit, particularly when trying to guess the country of origin of the different statues spread across the park.
• Walked to Urakami cathedral. Unfortunately by the time we got there it was closed, but still got to see the damaged statues and ruins around the church.
• Took a taxi to Inasayama observation deck (20mn, 3k yen). Absolutely stunning view. If going by taxi, definitely worth asking the driver to wait 5-10mn for you to snap your photos, as there isn't much else to do and there were no other taxis waiting nearby (shared my ride back to the city with a tourist who had been stranded for 30mn+). Got back around 6:30 PM.

Day 7: Kumamoto + Kurokawa I

• Left the AirBnB at around 9:20. Shipped our luggage from the Yamato store in Nagasaki station to our Beppu hotel. Communication wise rudimentary Japanese and a printed hotel reservation confirmation was sufficient.
• Rode Kamome + relay Kamome to Shin Tosu, then switched to a Kumamoto bound Tsubame.
• This may be a bit controversial, but I was pretty disappointed by Kumamoto castle. Hordes of tourists (more than all previous Kyushu sights combined), large portions still under construction, interior exhibits only in Japanese. I had heard that they had mostly recovered from the earthquake, but to me it seems a lot was still lost. The whole thing had a disney-esque vibe, with the lack of trees making the sweltering heat difficulty tolerable. Nearby **Kato shrine...

Content cut off. Read original on https://old.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/1lrnl4o/10_day_june_kyushu_trip_report_fukuoka_nagasaki/