It’s been 4-5 years since I went overseas with my family. We went to Hokkaido on the previous trip and loved it, so we decided to return to Japan again and visit Kyushu this time!
You can skip to the parts that you’re interested in by clicking these headings below:
Pros and cons of travelling in a tour group
We engaged a travel agency which was a really good idea because:
It saved us a lot of time and effort to plan, coordinate, book accommodations and purchase tickets for a bigger group (Phew!)
Kyushu is huge and it was comfortable to have someone drive us around instead of renting a car and being unfamiliar with the roads or taking public transport (especially if you are travelling with elderly or people with mobility issues)
You just feel reassured travelling with a tour guide who knows much more about Japan than you do (e.g. did you know that you may have to pay extra if you want to use the onsen/swimming pool at the hotel/ryokan?)
Don’t forget to consider the cons as well:
More expensive than going on your own (you might be able to save a few hundred dollars and potentially up to 1K SGD depending on how comfortable you want your trip to be~)
You’ll be travelling with strangers who have their own quirks (no choice, you’re stuck with them till the end of the trip)
A lot of hotel meals (not great especially for foodies who like to have a variety of meal options)
You are expected to follow the group and schedule so as not to cause any delay or inconveniences to others - waking up early, limited time spent at each location, little or no say in the hotels that you stay at or the places you visit as a group etc.
Itinerary of 7 days
Day | Cities | Places Visited |
1 | Fukuoka | Daizaifu Tenmangu Uminonakamichi Seaside Park |
2 | Yanagawa Nagasaki | Yanagawa Canal Nagasaki Peace Park Mount Inasa |
3 | Shimabara Amakusa | Shimabara Samurai Residences (near Shimabara castle) Dolphin Watching Cruise |
4 | Kumamoto Kagoshima | Senganen (view Sakurajima Island from afar) Tenmonkan Shopping District |
5 | Miyazaki Takachiho | Sekino-o Waterfalls (didn’t go due to bad weather) Aoshima Jinja and Devil’s Washboard Takachiho Gorge |
6 | Aso City Yufuin Beppu | Cuddly Dominion Mount Aso (couldn’t see anything due to bad weather) Yufuin Main Street and Kinrin Lake Beppu Jigoku Meguri Hyotan Onsen (Sand bath experience) |
7 | Kitsuki Fukuoka | Kitsuki Castle Town (Kimono dress-up experience) Lalaport Shopping Mall |
A relaxing time in Kyushu
Overall, it was quite a relaxing trip. No frequent checking of Google Maps to get from place to place. No worrying about bookings, accommodations, transport or where to go/eat next. No serious feet or leg muscle aches. Beautiful scenery of the sea and mountains. Clean toilets. Sneaking in trips to Family Mart/7-Eleven/Lawson whenever possible. Feeling cute in a Kimono (nobody actually mentions the process of being wrapped up like a dumpling by a professional). Strategising the best time to visit the onsens. Cheap thrills of checking out the rooms and facilities of a new hotel/ryokan every night. Japanese food for at least 168 hours. Nap time on the bus every day. Precious family time together.
Small disappointments along the way
I mentioned earlier that one of the cons about travelling in a tour group is the inflexibility of time. The trip felt rushed on some days and I really wished that we had more time at certain places. For example, we only had 2 hours at Uminonakamichi Seaside Park even though it’s a huge space with cycling paths, flower fields, playgrounds, a water park and a zoo!
This problem is more obvious when you’re travelling across multiple cities in huge countries because a significant amount of time is dedicated to the actual transportation from place to place. Every time we boarded the bus, it would take 30 minutes to 3 hours for us to arrive at the next location. The uncontrollable weather conditions certainly didn’t help either. Our bus driver had to alter his route due to a flooding situation. The traffic jam on Day 7 limited our time at Lalaport Shopping Mall to 2 hours for both shopping and eating. There’re approximately 220 shops there and I only managed to speed shop at 2 of them (excluding our dinner place which is the food court in the mall). I didn’t even have time to see the huge Gundam display outside the mall. Aiyo. So hor, if yall want more flexibility in time, then I would recommend getting some inspiration from planned itineraries and just go on your own.
Tbh, I was also a little upset about the experience at Hyotan Onsen. Don’t get me wrong, I think the place and the service there was great. However, the instructions given by the tour guide could have been better, especially since the experience requires us to remove all our clothing and we’re all in a very vulnerable state. It was kinda chaotic because we were all unfamiliar but excited at the same time. Some ladies weren't sure what to bring along and had to make a few trips back to the locker room. I forgot my hair tie, so I ended up using the locker key band to bun up my hair. I’m pretty sure we made a lot of noise and the experience turned out not as peaceful as it should have been. The locals must be thinking “someone please get these foreigners out of here!” After the sand bathing, I remember removing my yukata in the washroom and spilling sand all over the mat (and onto a Japanese lady who was so speechless that she jumped back in shock) because I didn’t know where I could get rid of the sand. Everyone was in a rush to clean up and get clothed (naturally because nobody wants to continue being naked in the presence of others) and nobody seemed interested to check out the onsen that was just next to the shower area. Tbh, I was also unsure about the types of facilities available and my access to them. I had the impression that we didn’t have much time left here, so I was pressured to do the same instead of going around to check out the other facilities like the indoor/outdoor onsen which the place is also known for. Well, I guess going for a sand bath is definitely on my list of places to visit when I travel to Kyushu again in the future~
Funny experience with the locals
There was a funny encounter with some locals in the lift one evening. Two elderly ladies entered the lift on the 2nd floor. I overheard them saying “kyuu kai (9th floor)'', so I pressed the corresponding lift button. Well, I’ve been going for Japanese language classes in Singapore, so I know a little. Later, another group of Japanese entered the lift. Since I was the closest to the buttons, I asked softly “nan gai (what floor)?” A man heard me and replied, “kyuu kai”. Oh, same floor as the previous group, so I nodded and pressed for the lift doors to close. A lady from the same group as the man asked him quickly if he had already pressed for the 9th floor and he responded yes. I think she was concerned because I didn’t respond to him verbally. Then, the two elderly ladies were discussing out loud if I was a foreigner because I didn't look local yet I spoke some Japanese - “nan gai”. All of them exited the lift afterwards and the man thanked me by saying “san kyuu” which is a common phrase because it sounds like “thank you” but it also translates as “3, 9”. I think he was making a joke to link to the floor that they were getting off at. I love that I got a chance to practise my extremely basic level of Japanese so unexpectedly, hahaha!
Okay, that's it for this post. Testing out shorter content. If you’re keen for me to do a more detailed review/sharing of the places that I visited, you can comment on this post. Feel free to share about your experiences if you’d been to Kyushu too! I think Kyushu is a lovely place and I wouldn’t mind going there again someday. Hmm, perhaps I will do a separate post on going to the onsen in Japan?
Here's a Kimono pic for those who have scrolled to the end!
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