Of the two, I'd go with #2. Or, to further confuse things, how about flying into Tokyo, then flying straight to Kanazawa ? Then train to naoshima (which I think will be awesome!) with or without a stopover in Osaka or somewhere else. Then train from naoshima to kumamoto would be fast & direct without having to backtrack. Keep in mind the Kumamoto is only 30 mins by Shinkansen from fukuoka and is really a pleasant small city to spend a day or so.

From Kumamoto to Kurokawa Onsen seems complicated, but it really wasn't. You leave Kumamoto in the late morning, and the train & bus are fairly seamless. You will be in your ryokan with plenty of time for a bath before dinner. When you leave the onsen two days later, you can have a leisurely breakfast and be in fukuoka by about 3 or so.
I know you will have a great time with any of these itineraries. We are splitting hairs over which is the best!

Well our tickets are booked (a small feat--and, boy, was that a royal pain in the tuchas!). We explored all possibilities for in and out cities (Osaka, Tokyo, etc.) but the reality, as suspected, was a very limited amount of availability due to our traveling during the peak Christmas and New Years seasons -- and since we didn't want to connect 3 times to get to Bangkok on our departure, we netted out with flying out of Fukuoka.

DAY 1 Depart from LAX
DAY 2 Arrive Tokyo @ 4 PM
DAY 3 Tokyo
DAY 4 Train/Fly to Kanazawa *advice appreciated here*
DAY 5 Kanazawa
DAY 6 Kanazawa
DAY 7 Osaka
DAY 8 Naoshima
DAY 9 Naoshima
DAY 10 Kumamoto
DAY 11 Kurokawa Onsen
DAY 12 Kurokawa Onsen
DAY 13 Fukuoka
DAY 14 Fly to Bangkok

I think I'm still hedging towards the Kurokawa Onsen option (vs the Nasu option) -- and the fact that we're flying out of Fukuoka certainly helps lend credence to that decision.

As you can see, I'm dropping Takayama. I'd really love to include it, but simply put: we can't do everything on this trip. Trying to keep the 'rushing around' factor on a minimum on this trip (we had enough of that in India).

Please let me know if you see any issues with the above proposal. I suspect this is about as close as we're going to get for final. If it seems kosher to the experts, then off to planning hotels and ryokan!

With the Hokuriku Shinkansen coming online next month, the train would probably be an easier option to get from Tokyo to Kanazawa. The journey is anticipated to take about 2.5 hours.

We took the train to Kanazawa (after debating train vs. flight) and felt it was the best option for us. We had a tight connection at Omiya (under 20 minutes), but made it. With the upcoming Hokuriku Shinkansen, the train will be even easier.

Where are you staying in Kanazawa? You know we thought the Machiya house was a unique experience.

I think we're pretty dead-set on the machiya, Kathie. Although I have no idea of the cost so I reserve the right to change that statement.

I don't know exactly what we paid, but Kim got us a good price. Have you been in communication with her yet? She may also be able to get you better prices at some of the other places you are staying. Do ask.

Yes, we're total BFFs. She's been awesome! Seriously though, I'm sure she's tired of hearing from me at this point.

I plan to have her book the machiya -- and hopefully her rates at the rest of the places are better than anything we can get.

I have to keep pinching myself to remind me that there's still the whole Thailand portion of the trip to look forward to as well (luckily which we don't need too much help planning since I feel as comfortable in Thailand as I do in LA at this point). I haven't been excited for a trip like this in a long time!

The machiya was Y18,000 per night when we stayed there, at today's rates US$150 - a steal...

I like your plan. I will be crossing my fingers for a nice snowfall in Kurokawa.

Here's a guide to the fukuoka happenings:
http://fukuoka-now.com/areaguide/archive/

Are you oyster/shellfish fans?

http://fukuoka-now.com/2014/11/itosh...ut-guide-2014/
We thought this would be fun, but as so often happens, ran out of time. Next trip...

The stops in Kumamoto and Fukuoka make a great plan as you will be pre-positioned for your next-day travel. You basically have all day to get to/from Kurokawa on both days.

My advice is to take the train to Kanazawa. Trains travel between city centers, so no time/effort spent getting to/from airports. And air travel is much more easily affected by weather than the train is. Plus, using a JR Pass will save about ¥5,000 each.

I chose to fly from Tokyo Haneda to Komatsu but that was when a one-way flight only cost 6,000 MP miles and there was no shinkansen service.

Start your 7-day JR Pass on Day 4 when you take the shinkansen to Kanazawa. The JR Pass will last until you get to Kumamoto.

Then you have about ¥6,500 to ¥10,000 in JR fares or a 3-day N. Kyushu pass on the 11th for ¥7,200. Plus the bus fares to/from Kurokawa.

You also have bus options from Kumamoto to Kurokawa and Kurokawa to Hakata.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4575.html#jump_access

Again I have nothing useful to offer aside from I am very envious Muffin and I are not going too ....

Did I hear something in one of these posts somewhere about a JR pass coming up that would include Nozomi trains? Was just curious if I was imagining that or not.

Also--I'm somewhat curious about the Gran Class available on the Kanazawa train. Seems like a nice treat for not a ton of money. How would that work in concert with a JR pass? Would it be an upcharge or would we have to buy the ticket outright? Maybe if that's the case then it makes sense to activate the JR Pass *after* Kanzawa and then it would cover all the Kumamoto/Kurokawa Onsen travel?

HT/mrwunrfl/lcuy, any info/firsthand experience on the JR pass specifics above?

A green seat Tokyo-Nagano is ¥2,500 more than a regular reserved seat and Gran Clas is another ¥3,000 more than the green car. I would call that a ton of money for an 86 minute trip given the fare with regular reserved seat is ¥8,200.

I imagine that the experience would be of a half-empty (or less) car where the other pax are middle-aged men in black suits reading the Yomiuri Shimbun.

There certainly would be an up-charge. It would be worth considering only if you didn't have to pay the limited express surcharge in addition to an upgraded seat fee.

>>Did I hear something in one of these posts ...

I think that you are referring to the new Tokaido-Sanyo pass that would not apply to your itinerary and is really not a very good deal.

There is a Sanyo - Northern Kyushu pass that MIGHT include Nozomi trains. It is a five-day pass and would require you to pay for Kanazawa-Kyoto. Am not sure how it would fit into your itin. You could check it out. But a 7-day pass might be better - but it really depends on how you work out the bus and train travel for Kurokawa - it can be done all by bus.

... would require you to pay for Kanazawa-<s>Kyoto</s>Osaka.

No first hand experience in gran class yet but you can bet the first chance I get we will. I dunno but pics look kinda cool to me and I enjoy reading the Yomiuri or Asahi Shimbun

pics look cool

http://www.japan-rail-pass.com/japan...tips/granclass

http://jprail.com/trains/tohoku-shin...e-gallery.html

lite food and drinks are included in price

Aloha!

That looks like it was meant for you and Linda, HT.

Looks nice. 6 rows at 1x2 so you would only see at most one of the aforementioned black suits while seated.

"Some trains that run from Tokyo to Nagano have begun to integrate Gran Class-designed cars (and their comfortable seats) without the aforementioned amenities."

I think the hour glass with purple sand to time the herbal tea seep time has sold me on Gran Class, though I doubt it is included in the fare.
Thanks for the photo link HT
Filmwill, your itinerary looks great,have fun