Farina50

Hello,
I'm wondering if someone could shed light on this. Do I understand correctly that consecutive for the Kyushu rail pass means one is essentially travelling every day?? Appreciate it if someone could clear this up for me.
Thanks,
Farina

mrwunrfl

No. You don't have to travel every day, but you can. The passes are valid for consecutive days. If you don't use it one day then you don't get an extra day.

Or maybe you are asking: Do you have to use it every day to make it worthwhile? The answer to that could be "yes" but it depends on your itinerary.

Monday travel Hakata->Kagoshima. Don't travel on Tues. Wednesday go Kagoshima-> Hakata. Regular fare would be over ¥20,000 for the roundtrip. The 3-day pass is only ¥14,400.

Farina50

Thank you so much. I hadn't seen an expiration date for the pass so couldn't figure out the consecutive day stipulation.
Thanks

kalihiwai2

We used these passes during a two week trip to Kyushu May 2013. A North Kyushu Pass 5 day for the first week. Fukuoka - Arita- Fukuoka -Yufuin - Kumamoto and then the All Kyushu 5 day (this leg may have been break even) for Kumamoto-Kagoshima-Fukuoka. This pass can be purchased in country (select railroad stations) as opposed to JR Pass that has to be bought in advance of arrival. You have to make sure of your dates.
My trip report is here on Fodors
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...p-may-2013.cfm
Have fun, Kyushu is great.

mrwunrfl

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_05.html
http://www.jrkyushu.co.jp/english/railpass.html

Both sites explain that an exchange order is valid for 90 days from date of purchase. If you don't get an exchange order (voucher) in advance then you can just buy the pass in Japan, as kalihiwai2 mentioned.

I will guess that, in either case, you can specify the actual validity period of the pass like you can with a regular JR Pass.

That is, you go to one of the JR stations that issues passes and tell them when you want the pass to start. That date can be today or tomorrow or, say, next Monday. Then they issue you a pass that is stamped with the validity dates (at least the start date).

Is that clear?

Adastra2200

It is very easy to recoup the costs of the JR Kyushu Passes, especially if you take the bullet train, it's almost impossible not to. As mentioned above, you can get multiple passes, so long as the times do not overlap. Also you must be arriving on a Temporary Visitor Status, or a tourist visa to use it. (Or a Japanese citizen who is a permanently resident overseas - they are also eligible, but cannot get it once in Japan).
There is so much to see, and a lot extremely few have ever heard of. The Nanzoin Temple in Fukuoka is like a dream:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT4VQFmHFyM
And the Tochoji Temple, also in Fukuoka is another Great Buddha - two in the same area!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hug3tCMvu28
http://www.thejapanfaq.com/fukpic.html
Kumamoto has its castle, Suizenji Garden and Mt. Aso, plus Kurokawa hot spring area (you need a bus to reach it).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9xyXmU8U1g
Beppu has its Hell Tour, Monkey Park and hot springs:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...2lUNTr46ApKXxZ
Kagoshima has its amazing Sakurajima Volcano, and Ibusuki hot sands:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...JMdkB9mF0qjnqK
and Nagasaki is a gem of the island - one of the very best cities in Japan:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...K92siHyNqSNxXz
Few tourists, no crowds, great food, wonderful sights.

Farina50

Hello kalihiwai2,

Read your report a few times as the first time was with clenched teeth and eyes barely open, imagining what it felt like to have a dental issue overseas. Thanks for the info. For a minute I wanted to add Yakushima to our itin, but then decided to take a lesson from you and just go at a slower pace. The rail passes make one want to go everywhere, but as I'm finding out, the specialty trains in Kyushu don't run as frequently as Shinkansen so I'll be forced to slow down.


mrwunrfl,
Yes, abundantly clear. I should have prefaced my question with a please excuse the dumb question. I think the info should state any three days within a 90 day period. There's no need to mention consecutive as I don't know how else time moves. I did check Hyperdia and there is a big savings using the pass, just could not understand the need to mention consecutive.

Adastra 2200,
Thanks for all the links. So far our plan is 4 days Nagasaki, two Kumamoto and last leg 4 days Fukuoka. I'm trying to decide if I want to take special trains to Kagoshima in-between the Kumamoto portion or try to go to Yufuin/Beppu. Thanks for all your trouble.

Mara

The JR Kyushu Pass cannot be used any three days in a 90 day period....that is entirely incorrect. I am assuming you made a typo....

kalihiwai2

Sounds like a good plan.
Personally I enjoy train travel, to get a fancy bento ,good beverage and some quality arare and watch the scenery go by is a good travel day.

Check out this link for Kyushu train travel options

http://jprail.com/tag/kagoshima-chuo

The photo on the home page header is the Satsuma Peninsula and Mt Kaimondake visible by train.
Maybe go past Kagoshima for a bit and work your way back in time for check in?

mrwunrfl

I was not clear. Apologies for over-explaining. I should not have brought up the 90-day thing.

The Kyushu passes are valid for 3 or 5 <u>consecutive days</u>.

Nagasaki to Kumamoto ¥7,980
Kumamoto to Hakata ¥5,130
That is ￥13,110

You can get a Northern Kyushu 3-day pass for ￥7,200 and use it like this:
Day 1 - Nagasaki
Day 2 - Nagasaki
Day 3 - Nagasaki
Day 4 - Nagasaki, your pass is not valid yet
Day 5 - Travel Nagasaki to Kumamoto on your first day of validity
Day 6 - Kumamoto, you could use the pass this day but don't have to
Day 7 - Travel Kumamoto to Hakata (that is Fukuoka)

Days 8 to 11 - Fukuoka, your pass is no longer valid. It doesn't matter whether you used the pass on day 6 or not.

You would want your 3 consecutive days of validity to be days 5,6,7 of your trip.

If you want to add Beppu then you will need a 5-day pass, unless you do:
Day 5 - Travel Nagasaki to Kumamoto
Day 6 - Travel Kumamoto to Beppu
Day 7 - Travel Beppu to Hakata (that is Fukuoka)

If you want to add Kagoshima then you will need the All Kyushu Area pass.


>> I think the info should state any three days within a 90 day period.<<

Your thinking is not correct. "Any 3 days in an x-day period" would mean you could travel on non-consecutive days.

mrwunrfl

What "special trains to Kagoshima"?

Kavey

I agree with MrWunrfl.

The use of the word "consecutive" is crucial to explaining how the active works for these tickets. When you purchase the exchange order (essentially a pre-ticket that you swap for the actual ticket) it is provided with a validity period of 90 days from purchase. When you go ahead and swap the exchange order for your actual ticket, you must choose the three (or five) consecutive days within that 90 day validity period that you want the pass to be active.

Since there are commonly such things in the world as passes (for transport, amusement parks, sports clubs) which have a fairly long validity period but only allow the holder to use them a fixed number of times in that period, it seems rational to me to make it clear that this particular pass must be used for consecutive rather than non-consecutive days.

I'm not trying to be patronising, and hope you won't take offense. It's just that, actually, the use of the word consecutive is an essential part of explaining the pass validity, in my opinion.

mrwunrfl

In a different region of Japan, JR East has a "flexible" 5-day pass:
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/eastpass/i...tml#category03

It does not require the validity days to be consecutive.

Farina50

mrwunrfl,
The trains I'm interested in are: SL Hitoyoshi from Kumamoto to Hitoyoshi, Isaburo to Yoshimatsu and the last leg the Hayato no Kaze to Kagoshima. This will take the whole day.
Have figured out that I will need two passes as it is not as there aren't great connections to stop for a couple hours here and there as we did last year in the Kyoto area.

Mara,
No, it wasn't a typo, and lastly Kavey, am not offended but also do not know anything about passes for amusement parks, sporting events etc.

Mara

http://jprail.com/destinations/kyush...o-no-kaze.html

Is this the trip you want to do, Farina50? Looks very cool!

kalihiwai2

Here is link to a Kumamoto to Kagoshima special train option trip report.

http://jprail.com/destinations/kyush...o-no-kaze.html

Mara

kalihiwai2 - what do they say....great minds....;-)

btw, the total fare for the 3 train journey doesn't seem to justify a pass just for it...

mrwunrfl

>>Have figured out that I will need two passes ...<<

How did you figure that out? Please lay out your itinerary like I did above. How would you want to fit Kagoshima into your itinerary.

Identify where you will be on each day and which are your travel days:
Day 1 - Nagasaki
Day 2 -
...
Day 11 -

By "special" trains I thought you meant non-JR trains, but all three of the trains for the Kagoshima trip are JR.

mrwunrfl

>>btw, the total fare for the 3 train journey doesn't seem to justify a pass just for it...

Mara, how did you figure that out?

kalihiwai2

Thanks Mara.... I'm looking forward to doing some Kyushu train travel myself so am following this thread.

Here is a trip report/blog about the southernmost JR rail station.

http://www.darkmirage.com/2011/05/03...train-station/

NHK's Journeys in Japan just had a program about this area and it looks beautiful.
This would be a great day trip or overnight ryokan stay from Kagoshima.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/engli...s20130403.html

Ideally a car would be best for this area. Local taxi might not be too bad either.
Chiran, Healthy Land and Flower Park are all on the list.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4676.html