We have award tickets on hold for a 15 night trip, flying into Tokyo and out of Fukuoka. I have us flying out of Fukuoka so we can catch the sumo tournament at the end of the trip.

About us: Well traveled 30's couple. I've been to Japan several times (Tokyo several times, Kyoto / Osaka very long ago, etc.); first time for wife. I speak basic Japanese and we're comfortable getting off the beaten path and going places with little/no English. I'd like my wife to see the "essentials"/"highlights" of Japan and I haven't covered a great deal of the country myself, so we'd like to balance the "highlights" with more authentic, non-touristy experiences. (I realize it's very hard in 15 days to cover both the essentials AND get off the beaten path.)

Interests: We're interested history, culture / authentic experiences, and beautify scenery. Particularly, we want a trip with VARIETY. Wife will definitely get "Temple OD'd" if we see every temple in Kyoto plus Nikko plus Nara, etc. We also would rather not deal with hoards of tourist crowds and would want to avoid that as much as possible (I realize it's going to be hard at the popular temples in Kyoto like Kinkakuji.) Also, we don't like fake touristy / over-commercialized stuff that's been ruined by mass tourism (e.g., I've heard Kanazawa might be there already).

So, here's a very rough draft itinerary for the 15 nights:

Day 0: early evening arrival in HND; o/n Tokyo

Day 1: Tokyo Full Day #1; o/n Tokyo

Day 2: Tokyo Full Day #2; o/n Tokyo

Day 3: Tokyo to Takayama (4-5 hrs); Takayama afternoon (walk around old town); o/n Takayama

Day 4: Takayama to Shirakawago (1 hr); visit Shirakawago (lookout; walk around village); Shirakawago to Kanazawa (1.25 hr); o/n Kanazawa

Day 5: Kanazawa full day (Higashi Chaya-gai geisha district & teahouses, Omicho Market, Kenrokuen gardens, Kanazawa castle); o/n Kanazawa

Day 6: Kanazawa to Kyoto (2.5 hrs); Kyoto afternoon; o/n Kyoto

Day 7: Kyoto Full Day #1; o/n Kyoto

Day 8: Kyoto Full Day #2; o/n Kyoto

Day 9: Kyoto to Himeji (1 hr); visit Himeji Castle; Himeji to Hiroshima (1 hr); Hiroshima afternoon (Peace museum, park, A-bomb dome); o/n Hiroshima

Day 10: Miyajima Island (Itsukushima Shrine, Torii, Mt. Misen, and Daishoin) from Hiroshima (45 min each way); Hiroshima to Fukuoka (1.5 hr); o/n Fukuoka

Day 11 [?? EXTRA DAY - either more time in Kyushuu or add elsewhere ??]; o/n ???

Day 12 Fukuoka - day trip to Nagasaki (A-bomb museum, park, Dejima) (1.5 hr each way); o/n Fukuoka

Day 13: Fukuoka - day trip to Kagoshima (Sakurajima volcano, Sengan-en garden); o/n Fukuoka

Day 14: Fukuoka full day - morning ? [Asahi beer factory tour?]; afternoon: Sumo Tournament; o/n Fukuoka

Day 15: last morning in Fukuoka (Dazaifu?); 3pm flight from FUK

That is a busy itinerary. It is pretty much all on the beaten path.

Day 3: you will only have a few hours of daytime. Takayama deserves a full day.

Day 4: you need to look into getting bus reservations in advance. A good alternative would be to just stay in Takayama and visit Hida no Sato.

Day 10: there is no point in going on to Fukuoka that night. You are just adding "schedule pressure" to the day - the knowledge that you have to get to the station to catch a train means keeping an eye on the time. If you stayed overnight you could take your time on the island and then spend that 2-3 hours at a nice ryokan instead of traveling.

Day 11: Why not go to Kyushu Bassho that day? The first time I attended was 2001 and I got a ticket on the day and it was a fairly crappy seat. You do need to book in advance. You want to get there by 1 PM. Not much reason to go before noon. No matter what time you get there you, definitely, absolutely, want to stay until the last match which I think is at 6PM. They have Hakata ningyo (dolls) on display and for sale at the arena, including sumo-related ones.

Day 12-13: that is really a bit much, the two day trips. I recommend dropping Kagoshima and spending at least one night Nagasaki. Then go to Unzen Onsen for a night before heading back to Fukuoka.

Besides Unzen Onsen, other options in Western Kyushu that are a step off the well-beaten foreign tourist path would be Takeo Onsen or Ureshino Onsen, or one of the pottery towns like Arita. Am currently planning a visit to this area.

I visited Dazaifu last November and there was a ton of tourists.

Thanks so much, mrwunrfl, for all this.. I appreciate the detailed thinking. Some follow-ups:

To get off the beaten path, what about like-for-like substitutions like Hida Furukawa instead of Takayama and Ainokura instead of Shirakawago? I'm not sure if that adds inconvenience and worse sites in exchange for getting away from the crowds...

Isn't it just walking around three streets?

Quote:

Day 10:

Good idea to stay a 2nd night in Hiroshima and eliminate the "schedule pressure" and then go to Fukuoka the next morning. At that point, going to the sumo that afternoon then probably makes sense. I really like that idea.

We're not looking to stay at a ryokan, so it would we back to Hiroshima for a 2nd night.

But moving the sumo to Day 11 now makes Day 14 our new "extra day" and we still have one more day to work with. I'm still not sure whether to add another day in Kyushu or maybe even add a day in Kyoto and try to get in Nara and/or Osaka as day trips from there.

I was leaning toward the day trips to avoid having to keep moving around. 1 night hotel stays are a pain -- time wasted packing/unpacking, checking in and out, etc. Are you saying the day trips are a bit much because of the long train ride times? I hear that, certainly.

Why dropping Kagoshima? Based on distance, or quality? The volcano looks pretty cool, and different from what we'd see on the rest of the trip.

I'm not sure what we'd *really* want to see in Nagasaki besides the A-bomb park/museum and Dejima -- such that we'd need more time. The Kamakaze museum looks certainly "interesting," but that seems a bit out of the way.

Will look into all these as onsen options -- I suppose it doesn't matter so much which one, and whatever is more convenient with the rest of the itinerary makes sense. Not into pottery, though ;-)

>> what about like-for-like substitutions
You could do that.

>> Isn't it just walking around three streets?
No, there is more to it.

>> time wasted packing/unpacking, checking in and out, etc.
The only stuff you need to unpack is tomorrow's clothing. The only thing you need to pack is today's clothes. And a baggie with some toiletries (many/most lodging will have toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, body wash and/or hard soap, comb, plastic hairbrush (maybe), and razor for shaving legs)

Nagasaki is an attractive city. You might not realie it, but yiou do want to visit Glover Gardens and take the ropeway up the mountain for the view and a walk. The train travel time might be two hours each way but once you add in getting to/from Hakata station and waiting for the trains the day trip travel is going to cost you a good five hours out of the day. The A-bomb sites in Nagasaki are not as interesting (to me) as the Hiroshima PP and museum.

You could go from Hiroshima to Nagasaki (or Kagoshima).

>> because of the long train ride times?
Yes. But also because you are traveling often. Kagoshima would be be over 5 hours as a day trip, just for travel, and you are planning to see a volcano and a garden. Like Nagasaki, your travel time is going to be longer than the time you need to see the sites that you mentioned you are interested in.

Kumamoto is closer to Fukuoka and has a garden next to the awesome castle. Or you could just visit Ohori Park in Fukuoka or go out to Karatsu.

But, yeah, you could make those two day trips from Hakata station. Leave early, visit A-bomb site, Dejima, ropeway, Glover Garden, and make it back to Hakata that evening.

Japan has an inexpensive luggage delivery service.

I travel with a rollaboard carry-on bag and a small roller that stacks on top. You might use a small backpack instead of the small roller. I also take a foldup backpack that I use to stuff my hoodie into but it can also serve to carrry a change of clothing.

Day 2: put out your clothing for Day 3, pack what you need for day 4 into the small bag/backpack. Ship the large bag to Kanazawa. You might have to do this earlier in the day in which case your Day 2 clothing would go into the small bag/backpack.

Day 3, you carry/roll the small bag on the train to Takayama. Unpack your Day 4 clothing.

Day 4, you put your Day 3 stuff into the small bag/backpack and ship it to Kyoto. Then you travel hands-free, no luggage via Shirakawago to Kanazawa where your large bag will be waiting.

Day 6, take the large bag with you to Kyoto to be reunited with the small bag that you sent from Takayama.

I mean ship from hotel to hotel and maybe find that the bag is already in your room, but more likely it is in a spot next to the front desk.

You can also ship to/from the airport. A pair of travelers can combine their fresh clothing into one bag, used clothing in the other, and ship the latter to the airport a few days in advance.

You only ever need to travel with the small bag, never fully unpacking the large bag, when you have shorter stays (1 or 2 nights, maybe 3).

Anyway, that is what I do. You are going to need a luggage plan. Hotels can store luggage before or after your stay. There are coin lockers at railway stations. IDK what luggage storage facilities they have at Shirakawago these days, but hopefully better than in Jan. 2005.

I am imposing my personal preferences and travel style here and you are quite welcome to ignore them.

[Wouldn't want you to go to Ohori Park and find it boring and say you shoulda gone to Kagoshima. Thing is, you will be able to decide on the day if you have the energy to do either of those day trips]

mrwunrfl’s advice on Japanese luggage service is invaluable. Takkyubin is a Japan travelers best friend, easy, secure and convenient

LAX_Esq, I was just looking into scenic train rides in Kyushu thought that one might fit your itinerary.

The "Two Star 4047" trains run between Takeo Onsen and Nagasaki. There is an east route and a west route. You could use one (or both) to travel between Hakata (Fukuoka) and Nagasaki. Or you could use the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen one of the ways. You can take the Kyushu Shinkansen from Hakata and transfer to a limited express to Takeo Onsen or there is a direct limited express.

TWO STARS 4047｜JR KYUSHU RAILWAY COMPANY

The following webpage has some suggested itineraries for day trips and overnights. Am happy to see that one of them is between Takeo Onsen and Isahaya with an overnight in Unzen Onsen. That fits my plan.
Two-Star Trip (Model Course) | JR Kyushu | 2 stars 4047

The other scenic train I am considering is Yufuin no Mori.

mrwunrfl - I took the Yufuin no Mori back in 2012.....I haven't done that many fun trains in my last two trips to Japan. But in winter 2020 I took a steam train in Hokkaido and some other cool ones in northern Tohoku.
May I ask if you get your train info from one particular place or just a general search? There used to be a private website jprail where there was excellent information but he doesn't seem to have updated since Covid....

Hi Mara, I just googled "scenic train Kyushu" and found this:
Kyushu's Top 10 Sightseeing Trains - kumamoto.guru
took a look at that list and then searched the train names.

JR Kyushu has some info:
Train Varieties｜JR KYUSHU RAILWAY COMPANY

Hi... So, we're now totally not into the Takayama-Shirakawago-Kanazawa swing, and wife wants to cut down the overall number of days and isn't into the long day trips from Fukuoka to Nagasaki and Kagoshima. We've now significantly tightened the trip up to what seems to me to be a very standard and basic 1st time Japan trip except with the Fukuoka sumo at the end.

What are your thoughts on this itinerary:

Day 0: early evening arrival in HND; o/n Tokyo

Day 1: Tokyo Full Day #1; o/n Tokyo

Day 2: Tokyo Full Day #2; o/n Tokyo

Day 3: Tokyo most of the day day; Tokyo to Kyoto (2h40m) late aft / early eve; o/n Kyoto

Day 4: Kyoto Full Day #1; o/n Kyoto

Day 5: Kyoto Full Day #2; o/n Kyoto

Day 6: Kyoto Full Day #3 (day trip to Nara & Osaka?); o/n Kyoto

Day 7: Kyoto to Himeji (1 hr); visit Himeji Castle; Himeji to Hiroshima (1 hr); Hiroshima afternoon (Peace museum, park, A-bomb dome); o/n Hiroshima

Day 8: Miyajima day trip from Hiroshima; o/n Hiroshima

Day 9: Hiroshima to Fukuoka (1.5 hr); Fukuoka sumo tournament in afternoon; o/n Fukuoka

Day 10: [EXTRA DAY -- No idea what to do. I suppose the options for the additional day are 1) add an extra day in Tokyo, 2) make Osaka into a 2 night stay and cut one night from Kyoto, 3) a day trip from Fukuoka at the end​​​​​​​. One consideration is the 7 day JR Rail pass, and making the best use of it. I assume we'll activate it on Day 3 (Tokyo-Kyoto)]

Day 11: final morning in Fukuoka; 2pm flight from FUK

Thoughts?

​​​​​​​Thanks for all the advice so far...

A 7-day JRP activated to start on Day 3 will be good through end of Day 9.

BUT I doubt that it would be necessary, even at today's price. Your route is, basically, Tokyo to Hakata, and jorudan says that is about 24,000 yen. You are not going off that path very far at all. I would be a bit surprised if those diffferences added up to 5000 yen.

>> Day 6: Kyoto Full Day #3 (day trip to Nara & Osaka?); o/n Kyoto
choose one or the other if you return to Kyoto
you could visit Nara and then overnight in Osaka - maybe that is what your plan is and you had a typo (you mentioned second night in Osaka and this would be the first one)

>> Day 10: there is nothing extra about this day. it is the day for Fukuoka.

Hi LAX_Esq,
I just wanted to note that, even with the standard cities on your itinerary, you can still make it off the beaten path within those cities. Not all sites in Tokyo and Kyoto are equally famous.

Two days in Kyoto filled with visits to Kiyomizu-dera, Arashiyama, Fushimi Inari, the Golden Pavilion and Nijo Castle will be quite crowded indeed, especially in the high season of autumn leaves. However, you can also/instead go to north-eastern Kyoto and check out Tanukidani Fudoin and Shisen-dō Temple. You can do a sake tour around Fushimi. You can wake up early and do zazen meditation classes at Kenninji. You can still go to Arashiyama, but instead of sticking to the bamboo forest and tourist shops, go out to Daihikaku Senkōji Temple, go to Gioji and the Sagano area.

Instead of doing day trips to Osaka or Nara, you can go to Omihachiman, Mt.Hiei or Miyama.

In Tokyo, rather than Ueno's National Museum, Asakusa's temple, Shibuya Crossing with Yoyogi park and the evening in Shinjuku, you can go to the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Museum, Nezu Shrine, the Hokusai Museum...

In Hiroshima they do regular kagura shows (https://www.rccbc.co.jp/event/kagura/en/) and Miyajima has a wonderful History and Folklore Museum (everyone sticks to the floating shrine + Daishoin + shopping street, so anywhere else on the island could be "off the beaten path").

As for your last day in Fukuoka, there are a few day trips. Dazaifu will likely be very crowded and, in my humble opinion, is not the most beautiful place in Kyushu. Instead, I did enjoy the Yoshinogari Historical Park and walk through the rice fields. The Nokonoshima island park should also still have cosmos flowers in November (if you are going to Yoshinogari, there is a small cosmos field in front of Kanzaki station). One of my favourite places near Fukuoka is the Chofu district of Shimonoseki, with the Chofu Mori Residence, Kozanji, etc. and can be combined with the Dannoura Battlefield and the Kanmon Tunnel. Nanzoin next to Fukuoka is also nice. These options are assuming you don't have a JR Pass so aren't too expensive to get to.

14,170 Tokyo to Kyoto on a Nozomi shinkansen (this price is from JR Tokyo station or from other JR stations in Tokyo like Shinjuku though the local fare is only 210)

720 Kyoto to Nara on JR rapid train but there is at least one non-JR option that could be better depending on where you stay in Kyoto

820 Nara to Osaka on JR rapid

1,520 Osaka to Himeji on JR rapid 1 hr 4 min with no change of trains, Taking the shinkansen would cost 4130 and save only 12 minutes while requiring a change of trains at Shin Osaka (big station).

8770 Himeji to Miyajimaguchi (via Hiroshima)

180 ferry to Miyajima
180 ferry back to Miyajimaguchi
420 Miyajimaguchi ro Hiroshima

9,630 Hiroshima to Hakata

36,410

So, pay-as you-go would be more than the 7-day pass. It is the cost of those last two shinkansen trips Himeji-Hiroshima-Hakata that surprised me. Am going to have to re-learn how the fares are calculated with multiple stops over multiple days.

I bought a ticket this February for a Nozomi from Tokyo to Kyoto in April and the price was 11,820 JPY..it was a Hayatoku-21 - it's up a lot!!
'

It surprises me too! I thought it would be cheaper, for some reason. I've found that dividing a train journey into several stops always ends up more expensive than a direct A to B ticket though.

Note that your bullet train prices are for reserved seats. Tokyo station to Kyoto is �13,320 with an unreserved seat, Himeji to Miyajimaguchi �8240, and Hiroshima-Hakata �8,570. Not much difference, but it brings the total to �33,970 which is juuuuust a little more than the 7-day pass! With that, I think buying or not buying the pass will come down to a matter of convenience.

I'd never heard of the Hayatoku-21 Wide. That's a great price! The normal shinkansens have been around �13k for several years though, it's not a recent increase (only the JR Pass price has increased, as far as I'm aware). Did you buy this ticket several days in advance? I'd like to learn more about it

>> around �13k for several years though
Exactly. There have been discount tickets, like if you were okay with leaving at certain times.

Yes, A to B to C would cost more than A to C, one thing being that you would pay the 500 or 700 for reserved seats for two trains instead of one. But the base fare, as if you would take ordinary trains, would be good over multiple days (IDR but maybe 4 to 7 days for Tokyto to Hakata) and you could make multiple stops. The lex surcharge were based on so many km, and if you stop then you pay more. IIRC is was a certain amount for 600 km or any part of that. So if A to C is exactly 600 km then you pay that surcharge but you would pay double that if you stopped enroute (and actually went throught the gate)

But that memory is prolly bad and is from olden days, before 2020, at least. So, I went to japan-guide because that is where I thought I read aboiut fare construction.

But I stopped when I got to this page:

Japan Rail Pass Calculator - find out whether a JR Pass pays off (japan-guide.com)

and put in this itinerary:

Tokyo → Kyoto
13,000-13,500 yen
Kyoto → Nara
700 yen
Nara → Osaka
800 yen
Osaka → Himeji
1,500-3,500 yen
Himeji → Miyajima
8,600 yen
Miyajima → Fukuoka
9,100-9,600 yen

33,700-36,700 yen

One point about that is the difference between those fares and the pass is about 7000 yen which is only US $50, so not enough for me to not add that extra day to Kyoto or Hiroshima.

One of those cases where it might not be desirable to have the pass decide your itinerary, i.e. trying to fit your itinerary to the pass.

But the JRP does fit what the OP has as long as they use that "extra" day in Fukuoka (would be the really smart thing to do) or add it to Tokyo.

I used the Smart Ex app to buy shinkansen tickets in the fall of 2022 and spring 2023. That is where I got the Hayatoku discount fare. I think the prices have increased a bit recently though. I wasn't always able to get that discount though even if it was more then 21 days in advance....

The app covers the Tokaido Sanyo Kyushu Shinkansen....
https://smart-ex.jp/en/index.php