Kyushu for 5 days this month. Need ideas!
 

Both our daughters are spending Christmas with boyfriends' families, and my husband and I are in need of a short getaway.

So...I was playing around with flights today and purchased two First Class seats to Fukuoka (with a plane change at NRT) for later this month. $90 and 200,000 miles for the two of us. I have 24 hours to cancel or change, but these were pretty good flights, and I have reached my elite level this year, so I can burn miles with no hit to my status.

We'll arrive in Fukuoka in the evening, have four full days and then leave the next day in the afternoon. I have been madly reading trip reports and all my guidebooks, but most information is geared for spring, summer or fall visits.

Has anyone any experience with Kyushu in the short cold days of December?

I'm thinking we'll go to two towns, plus spend the first night and the last morning in Fukuoka. Nagasaki, Kumamoto and Yufuin are my shortlist at the moment, mainly because they don't seem to involve terribly difficult or lengthy train rides.

We like walking, museums, castles, and eating, I speak some Japanese, and we've been to Japan before, but never to Kyushu!

I know a bunch of you have been to Kyushu. All ideas welcome!

Visited Kyushu end of December 2012 for honeymoon. Temperature in the single-digits to low teens, with flurries a couple of days and some snow going up to Mt Aso. But still very pleasant overall.

See if the yokagura performances in Takachiho interest you. I think they have the all-night performances at farmhouses in December. I went to the performance at the shrine (November) and it was simple and magical and one of my best experiences in Japan (it also was 1-2 hrs and not overnight).

I just realized your trip is five days, so Takachiho is probably not worth the effort in that time.

Don't know how I missed your report Ray. Thanks. It seems like you had both wet and dry weather on your trip, so I'll just cross my fingers!

I would be interested in the yakagura, if I had more time. 5 days is just too short!

I was only in Kyushu in the spring but I really recommend Nagasaki - there is so much to see there - I had read The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet which is a historical novel about Dejima and the Dutch traders in the 1800's - Dejima has been rebuilt. And there is the Atomic Bomb Museum, of course, as well as the Chinese and Western areas of the city....

I've only been to Kyushu once and that was last autumn, in early November. The days were sunny and warmer than we expected.

We self-drove but didn't pick up our car until Kumamoto. That was our first destination in Kyushu, but we travelled by train from Osaka, and had to change in Fukuoka, because the direct train was fully booked. The Kyushu shinkansen that we boarded for the last leg was particularly elegant (and we only travelled regular not first class).

We enjoyed Kumamoto, visiting the castle and also Suizenji Joju-en Park, though can't comment on whether there are any specific issues for a December visit.

http://www.kaveyeats.com/2014/02/sui...-kumamoto.html

The Kamome L'Ex, Nagasaki-Hakata, is really nice with polished wood floors and leather seats. There is a Hakata doll shop in the mall under Tenjin Station. The dolls are also sold at a shop in Hakata station. Saga and Unzen are on my Japan bucket list. Kumamoto-jo is a gem. Chikae is a Fukuoka restaurant that I can recommend. Mentai is a specialty in Fukuoka and the best that I can say for it is that Ken likes it. Try champon in Nagasaki. Take the Nagasaki Ropeway to the top of Inasa-yama on a clear day - weather spoiled the view for me. Definitely go to the A-bomb museum, but the Nagasaki Peace Park didn't do anything for me, consider it optional esp. if weather is not great.

It was at a Nagasaki sushi bar where I asked the chef how much the toro was. He said "one five hundred" and finger-wrote it in the air. This was the first time that I ordered sushi in Japan and thought that 1 order of toro for ¥500 was a bargain, half-price, compared to back home. After the 3rd order I saw that the chef and another patron were surprised that I kept ordering more but I didn't understand why until I got the bill. That was when I realized that "one five hundred" meant ¥1500 per order.

We've been to Kyushu twice and one trip report is here....
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...p-may-2013.cfm
One idea would be to use Fukuoka for a base for a day trip to Dazaifu (Kyushu National Museum)
http://www.kyuhaku.com/
and /or Arita (Ceramics Museum/Imari

http://www.arita.jp.e.ew.hp.transer....ot/post_2.html
Only if you have a real interest in ceramics though.

I just finished Giles Martin's book Samurai William about early trade in Hirado which is in Northern Kyushu but may be too far afield for a day trip

Nagasaki is a interesting city with a different feel worth visiting
Add a day and a half onsen stay at Yufuin or Unzen (close to Nagasaki) and you would have a great getaway
Five days could be a perfect trip.

We took the Yufuin no Mori train to Yufuin and it was an easy hop.
My advice would be to not try and do too much and plan for some just relax days at your onsen choice.
Have a great time

Have a great time

Bob

bill, good one! must have been excellent toro. lol.

Love your Kumamoto choice! Stay in central town near the covered mall. Toyoko or where we stayed at the Comfort Hotel Kumamoto Shinshigai. You can walk or taxi to anywhere from there. Kumamoto-jo is in my top five. A not to be missed imho.

You know us Lucy we always think onsen first and would look into renting a car and driving up to Kurokawa Onsen for two nights. If there is too much snow up on Asoyama then plan b would be a two nighter in Nagasaki via the train. Lots of sites to see in Nagasaki and great Chinese food if you stay in Chinatown area at the Dormy Inn(where you can get a free onsen too). Nagasaki is a port city which you know means more seafood and there are some great places to eat in Nagasaki. Shopping is centered in midtown or the Chinatown area so easy walks. There are the museums, Dejima, Gunkajima, Glover Gardens and of course the A-bomb Memorial. A sunset atop Inasayama is said to be one of the three best night views in all of Japan and Linda and I can attest to that.

Transportation is easy with their tram systems or just taxi to the farther sites as the first drop is much lower than in Tokyo somewhere near 5.50 yen iirc. and lucky you the yen is near 120 to the $ now lol. Either way you guys will have a Mele Kalikimaka!

Aloha!

Well, I am officially very thankful for all your help. Really, I was overwhelmed and now I have a plan:

Arrive Fukuoka 8:10 pm. If we can get our train pass, we will go straight to Kumamoto and stay at Comfort Inn.

Day 1: Explore Kumamoto, home of my husband's ancestors. His grandparents emigrated from there in the early 1900's. Sleep at Comfort Inn again.

Day 3. Take a train/bus combo to Kurokawa (via Mt. Aso). Between the possibility of rain/snow/ice we'd rather sit back and let someone else do the driving.
Check into Yamashinobu Ryokan for two nights. (Sanga is full)

Day 4. Relax in Kurukawa. I'm hoping for a little snow or a lot of sun, but rain won't spoil it for us either.

Day 5 Train back up to Fukuoka in the morning. Explore the city, and maybe go to the big Christmas market that evening.

Day 6: Need to be at the airport at 1:00 for our flight home, so we'll have a little more time to wander or shop. We're packing our soft sided color, in hopes of finding some great food for New Years Day party.

I feel great now that I have made some decisions and can now just fine tune the details.

That sounds absolutely perfect!

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4552.html

Not sure if this makes a difference to your plan which does sound good, but access to Mt. Aso is limited now - see above link and this one for further info:
http://www.aso.ne.jp/~volcano/info.html

Thanks Mara. We aren't planning to go to Aso, but this is a good warning.

My mother in law doesn't ever want to go back to Japan, because she says it is just too dangerous! Tsunami, Typhoons, earthquakes, and too many volcanoes. I think she just doesn't like flying...

http://www.kyusanko.co.jp/sankobus/e...le/odantt1.pdf

lcuy, you said you were taking a train/bus combo - you do know there is a direct bus from Kumamoto to Kurokawa as well....

We took the direct bus from Kumamoto to Kurokawa in May. It was a great scenic ride that passed through the Mt Aso area, stopping near the summit at the shrine, lift and museum.
After the descent it stopped at Aso Station where I saw the train schedule on the wall and realized I could have hopped ahead by train and then taken the bus from there.
Given that it was a nice sunny May day I was happy to have had the Mt Aso tour by bus, even if we didn't get off.
Given the time of year and the possible conditions of the winding narrow mountain roads,
I'd opt for arrival at Aso station by train and transferring to bus there.
Just double check the schedules so they mesh.
In Kumamoto we walked to the downtown bus station the day before and got our tickets in advance. Of course if the weather is clear ask the person at Kyusanko, about the road conditions.
In Kumamoto besides the castle we enjoyed Suizenji Garden and also the Hosokawa Mansion which is near the castle
Your Ryokan looks great. If you want to explore Kurokawa you can get a Nyuto Tegata and sample different ryokan baths, it took us about 4 hours.
http://www.kurokawaonsen.or.jp/english/kurokawa/

Great choice! If we were to take public transport then the way you are doing it is the way to go too. I have read that the ride from Kumamoto to Aso eki is very scenic. The drive only starts getting scenic after the Aso stop so your bus ride will also be enjoyable.

"Tsunami, Typhoons, earthquakes, and too many volcanoes" lol.....wait, doesn't she live in Hawaii :)

Aloha!

Ha ha Peter. Does sound like Hawaii, doesn't it? I better not tell her that, or she'll want to go back to Oregon.

Thank you, everybody, for your help & tips. I can't wait for next week. Aired out our jackets, socks and boots, hunted down leftover Yen, and took screen shots of all the maps and train schedules on my iPad. I'm ready!