Overview:
This was my fifth time visiting Japan, and I finally got to do the Kyushu road trip I had wanted. We traveled as a group of four, all departing from Canada and meeting up in Kagoshima City in early May. We had two drivers, and one member of the group had just enough Japanese speaking and reading ability for us to get by without needing English translations.
Route:
Kagoshima City > Miyazaki City > Takachiho > Kikuchi (Kumamoto Prefecture) > Fukuoka City > Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture) > Nagasaki > Amakusa (Kumamoto Prefecture) > Kagoshima City to complete the loop
Car Costs:
We rented through Guts Rent-a-Car for a total of 31,460 JPY for 10 days (22,600 base + 6,000 CDW). We were given a Honda N-Wagon, which managed to fit our group’s four carry-on-sized suitcases plus one backpack each (two suitcases in the trunk, two in the back seat area).
We drove roughly 1,700 km during the trip and used approximately three full tanks of gas. We tried to take non-toll routes whenever it was reasonable and ended up paying around 6,000 JPY in toll fees total. We also took a ferry crossing from Minamishimabara to Amakusa, which cost about 5,500 JPY, then parking was approximately an additional 3000 JPY. Since everything is split four ways, this means each of us only spent ~11000 JPY for 10 days of travel, which really puts into perspective how expensive the JR rail pass has become after the price hike. If you are comfortable with driving, then car rentals really is a great option these days to see rural Japan.
Tips:
There are already a ton of great tips on this subreddit, so I’ll focus mainly on a few niche things I personally would have found useful for my planning.
-
Narita to Haneda Airport Transfer Time:
Our flights required some very tight airport transfers: Narita to Haneda on arrival with only a 4-hour layover, and Haneda back to Narita on the return with only a 3-hour layover. If you ever find yourself needing to do these transfers, know that it’s very possible, but very tight. I arrived and departed on Saturdays, so I chose the direct airport transfer bus since traffic would be minimal. Importantly I also didn’t check any bags to reduce transfer time, since checked luggage would need to be picked up and rechecked manually. Finally, we had no flight delays at all and I was seated near the front of the plane in both directions. Under those optimal conditions, I completed the Narita to Haneda transfer in about 2 hours total, including clearing customs at Narita. The Haneda to Narita transfer took about 1 hour and 15 minutes. -
Mobile Data:
I was a bit worried about coverage since we were traveling through some rural areas. If you plan to use an eSIM, pay attention to which carrier network it uses, and consider having people in your group use different networks for redundancy. In our case, we all used eSIM aggregators to find good deals, but intentionally chose different carrier networks. I used an IIJ eSIM which runs on the Docomo network, and it worked great for almost the entire trip. Another member of our group used an eSIM on SoftBank’s network and had connectivity issues in a few locations. -
Golden Week:
Our trip overlapped with the latter half of Golden Week while we were in Kagoshima and Miyazaki Prefectures. During this period, lines at popular attractions were long, but there wasn’t overwhelming crowding overall. Immediately after Golden Week ended, wait times dropped significantly. Many accommodation prices during Golden Week had surge pricing, which especially limited our options around Takachiho. -
Navigation / Tolls:
We used Google Maps exclusively for navigation, and it worked great about 90% of the time. The other 10% was pretty unhinged with maps refusing to acknowledge certain roads existed and often routing us through farm paths or tiny residential roads to avoid minor traffic. When tolls are enabled, Google Maps seems to always prioritize the absolute fastest route, even if the toll-free option is only slightly slower. I highly recommend paying attention to what maps is actually trying to do instead of blindly following it, especially when it suddenly points you toward a dirt road or a narrow alley. We also saved a lot on tolls by double checking how much time the non-toll option would add, then exiting expressways early whenever the savings made sense. Oftentimes, we would see that a 1,000 JPY toll only saves about 10 minutes, but Maps won’t make that obvious unless you manually compare routes.
Day-by-Day Itinerary:
Day 1:
Arrived in Kagoshima, checked into our Airbnb, and immediately went to sleep.
Day 2:
We walked up to the Shiroyama Park Observation Deck, passing through Terukuni Shrine, then looped through the park and descended near the Kagoshima Castle ruins. It’s a fairly light hike, and I’d definitely recommend it. We also wandered around town and did some shopping near Kagoshima-Chuo Station.
Day 3:
Picked up the rental car at 10:00 AM and drove to Miyazaki City. Along the way, we stopped at Udo Shrine and Sun Messe Nichinan. We originally planned to visit Aoshima as well, but ran out of time. Stayed overnight at APA Miyazaki.
Day 4:
Drove down to Aoshima, then headed to Amanoyasukawara. After visiting the cave, we drove to our accommodations in the nearby town of Gokase. In the evening, we attended the Kagura performance at Takachiho Shrine. Because of Golden Week, hotels in Takachiho itself were either fully booked or had surge pricing. Gokase Onsen was only about a 15-minute drive away, half empty, and cost us roughly 5,000 JPY per person for the night. The facilities were basic, but the onsen was excellent and I’d definitely recommend it if you are looking for cheap accomadations in this area
Note:
I recommend booking Kagura tickets online in advance. Guests with online reservations were seated in the front, while same-day ticket buyers were placed farther back starting at around the middle of the performance hall.
Day 5:
Drove to Takachiho and walked through the gorge in the morning. We parked at the free parking at Takachiho shrine then walked down, about 15 minutes. We then headed toward Aso, stopping first at Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine, then in Takamori for lunch and the Frankie One Piece statue.
Afterward, we drove to Aso Sanjo and hiked around the mountain near Sunasenrigahama. We also stopped by Kusasenrigahama before continuing down the mountain to our ryokan in Kikuchi Onsen.
Note:
As of May 2026, the Aso crater remains closed due to the helicopter crash. However, you can still hike around the surrounding area. Once you arrive at Aso Sanjo, go down the stairs opposite the terminal building and walk through the side parking area. You’ll find the hiking trail that follows the toll road upward. If you’re unsure, ask the staff about the trail to Sunasenrigahama.
Day 6:
After a quick walk to Kikuchi Shrine, we made a stop to see the Zoro One Piece statue before heading to Yamaga to visit Yachiyo-za Theatre.
We then drove north toward Fukuoka, first stopping at the Yame tea plantation observation deck and a nearby tea shop. Later in the afternoon, we visited Dazaifu Tenmangu before arriving at our Airbnb near Fukuoka Airport in the evening.
Note:
I really wanted to watch a performance at Yachiyo-za, but they don’t publish the exact monthly schedule until about two weeks beforehand. Even if there aren’t any performances happening, I still highly recommend visiting. You’re allowed to freely explore the theater and backstage areas at your own pace.
Day 7:
Full day in Fukuoka, mostly a break day and just shopping.
Day 8:
Drove up to Kitakyushu for a day trip, stopping at the Hisayama Costco for lunch. We then visited the TOTO Museum before ending the day walking around Mojiko Retro and driving back. I had several other things planned, but we spent way too long looking at toilets in the museum.
Day 9:
Checked out and drove toward Karatsu City to visit the abandoned City Museum. We then had lunch at Drive-In Tori before stopping at Tozan Shrine in Arita.
We walked around the shrine and explored town a bit, but almost everything was closed. Afterward, we drove to Takeo to visit Takeo Shrine before heading to Sasebo for the night at our ryokan.
Note:
Some of these stops were mainly included because of Zombie Land Saga fans in our group.
Day 10:
Visited Nagasaki Bio Park in the morning and spent about half the day there. After lunch, we drove to Yutoku Inari Shrine, then continued south, stopping at the floating torii gate in Tara before arriving at our hotel in Nagasaki.
Note:
You do not need to buy the petting zoo ticket at Nagasaki Bio Park to pet the capybaras. The separate petting zoo area mostly contains more common domestic animals (though they were still very cute).
Day 11:
Drove to the free parking area at Inasayama Park, then hiked up to the Mt. Inasa overlook. It’s really more of a stair climb than a hike, and I recommend it if you don’t want to pay the 1,000 JPY ropeway ticket. For some reason, there was also a small zoo area with monkeys and deer.
Afterward, we visited Suwa Shrine before driving down to Minamishimabara and taking the ferry to Amakusa. We continued to our ryokan on the west side of the island, stopping by Oppai Rock along the way.
Note:
This was our first time bringing a car onto a ferry. It was surprisingly easy, so don’t stress too much about it during your own planning.
Also, if you want to see Oppai Rock properly, make sure to visit during low tide. Unfortunately, most of it was submerged when we arrived at high tide.
Day 12:
Visited Sakitsu Church, then headed toward Kumamoto City. Along the way, we stopped at Nagabeta Seabed Road to see the Jinbei One Piece statue before arriving around noon. We did some shopping, visited Kumamoto Castle, and the Luffy statue, then drove back south to Kagoshima.
Day 13:
Drove down to and toured a bonito processing factory there. I highly recommend this if you ever get the chance. It was just our group, and they guided us directly through the active factory floor and warehouses with all the workers and racks of bonito right beside us, dodging forklifts along the way. They even brought in a translator for us for the explanations. I booked the tour through the Ibusuki tourism website, costs 3000JPY. Afterward, we returned the rental car.
Day 14:
Did a final bit of shopping, then flew home.
by table454545