Winter road trip through Kyushu - our route & tips
Last winter, we traveled around Kyushu by car. It quickly became one of our favorite places in Japan. Because relatively few tourists visit the island, it feels much more peaceful. Combine that with the freedom that comes with having a car, and you have the perfect recipe for an amazing trip. In this article, I'll share our route and some additional tips.
Our route
We started our journey through Kyushu in Fukuoka, where we arrived by shinkansen. You don't need a car in the city itself, so we only rented one when we were ready to leave Fukuoka. From there, our route looked like this:
Fukuoka to Nagasaki On the way, we stopped at Tosu Premium Outlets. It's nothing particularly special, but it's a nice outlet mall to visit and very easy to reach by car.
Nagasaki to Kokonoe Along the way, we visited the Nagasaki Penguin Aquarium, which is also easily accessible by car. There isn't much to do in Kokonoe itself, because it's a tiny mountain village, but we stayed at an amazing Airbnb on a farm. That alone made the detour completely worthwhile. Even in winter, the views were stunning.
Kokonoe to Yufuin Onsen We booked a hotel with a private onsen so we could fully relax on a cold winter day.
Yufuin Onsen to Beppu We visited the famous "Hells of Beppu," and once again stayed at a hotel with a private onsen. It was the perfect place to unwind after a day of sightseeing.
Beppu to Miyazaki This was quite a long drive, and next time we would probably split it up with an extra stop along the way. From Miyazaki, we drove to Udo Jingu, a breathtaking shrine located on a cliff overlooking the sea.
Miyazaki to Mount Aso Along the route, we stopped at Takachiho Gorge, one of Kyushu's most iconic sights. We absolutely loved it. If you arrive earlier in the day, you can rent a boat and explore the gorge from the water. We arrived in the afternoon, by which time all the boats for the day had already been reserved. Afterward, we continued to a small village near Mount Aso.
Mount Aso to Fukuoka You can drive all the way to the crater of Mount Aso, which is highly recommended. Be sure to check the weather forecast beforehand, as the crater is closed during bad weather. After visiting the volcano, we drove back to Fukuoka and returned our rental car there.
Tips
As long as you're not driving on the highway, you'll often find convenience stores along the road. Most have parking available. Take advantage of this and stock up on coffee and snacks for the journey, especially if you're facing a long drive.
On the highways, you may sometimes go more than 100 kilometers without encountering a gas station or rest area. Make sure your tank is well filled and plan ahead where you'd like to stop for food.
Highway service areas are generally very affordable and serve surprisingly good food. They're a great place to grab a meal during your journey, and we found them to be a fun part of the experience as well.
Japanese expressways charge tolls. In many cases, you can pay by credit card, but it's wise to keep some cash on hand just in case. Toll costs can add up quickly. For this trip, we spent a little over €100 on tolls in total.
Even better is renting an ETC card from your car rental company. This allows tolls to be paid automatically, so you can drive straight through the toll gates without stopping. It also gives you access to certain exits that cannot be used without an ETC card because they do not have payment machines. This is especially common near smaller villages. We traveled without an ETC card and didn't run into any issues, but it could be inconvenient if your route requires one of those exits.
Before booking accommodation, check whether parking is available. For example, we were able to park at our accommodation in Nagasaki, but it cost us around €10 per day.
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