Fukuoka sits at the northern tip of Kyushu with excellent transport connections to some of Japan’s most distinctive secondary destinations. Here are the best day trips from the city.
Fukuoka (Hakata) is an excellent base for exploring Kyushu. The bullet train and limited express network radiate outward from Hakata Station to destinations ranging from medieval castle towns to volcanic hot-spring resorts. Most are reachable in under 2 hours.
Dazaifu (30 minutes – Essential)
Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine is dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane, the deified patron of scholars and learning. One of Japan’s most visited Shinto shrines, set in a garden with a famous plum blossom collection (peak February) and the striking contemporary Starbucks designed by Kengo Kuma (traditional wood sticks interlocking in a modern lattice). The approach street has excellent umegae mochi (rice cakes with plum blossom filling, the local specialty).
The Kyushu National Museum is adjacent to Japan’s fourth national museum, housed in a dramatic glass-and-titanium building with an outstanding collection of Asian art and artifacts of cultural exchange, covering Japan’s historical relationships with China, Korea, and Southeast Asia. Free on certain days.
- Getting there: Nishitetsu Tenjin Omuta Line from Fukuoka Tenjin Station to Dazaifu, about 30 minutes, 420 yen. No JR connection.
- Time needed: Half a day for the shrine and museum.
Yanagawa (1 hour – Most Scenic)
A former castle town with a network of canals used for drainage and transport since the feudal era. The primary experience is a canal punt (flat-bottomed boat poled by a boatman singing traditional songs) through the historic canal system. Journey time is about 70 minutes from the embarkation point to the castle ruins. The boat experience costs around 1,500 to 2,000 yen.
Yanagawa is most famous in autumn, when the surrounding willow trees reflect in the water, and in spring, for cherry blossoms along the canal banks.
- Getting there: Nishitetsu Tenjin Omuta Line from Tenjin to Yanagawa, about 1 hour, 760 yen. Walk to the boat embarkation point.
- Time needed: A minimum of half a day for the boat and canal town walk.
Nagasaki (2 hours – Most Significant)
Japan’s most historically layered city. The Nagasaki Peace Memorial Museum and Hypocenter Park (where the second atomic bomb fell on August 9, 1945) are historically essential destinations. Nagasaki also has the finest Chinatown in western Japan, the Glover Garden Victorian-era merchant houses with harbour views, Dejima Island (the only Western trading post permitted during Japan’s isolation period), and a distinctive Champon noodle cuisine that reflects centuries of Chinese influence.
- Getting there: Kamome (Seagull) Limited Express from Hakata Station, about 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours, around 4,000 yen one way. JR Pass is valid.
- Time needed: Full day. Nagasaki deserves an overnight if possible.
Beppu (1.5 hours – Most Unusual)
Japan’s most prolific onsen town, with more hot spring sources than anywhere else in the country. The famous ‘eight hells’ (jigoku) are a circuit of boiling, bubbling, geothermal pools that are for viewing rather than bathing: bright blue Umi Jigoku, blood-red Chi no Ike Jigoku, and the crocodile-inhabited Wani Jigoku, among others. Entry is around 2,200 yen for all eight. Genuine bathing onsen are available at dozens of facilities throughout town, many for under 300 yen.
- Getting there: Sonic Limited Express from Hakata to Beppu, about 1 hour 50 minutes, around 5,200 yen. JR Pass is valid.
- Time needed: Full day.
Kumamoto (1 hour – Best Castle)
Kumamoto Castle is one of Japan’s finest surviving castle complexes, currently being restored after significant damage from the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes. The main keep (honmaru) has reopened, and the restoration work itself is considered a remarkable feat of traditional craftsmanship. The adjacent Suizenji Garden is one of Japan’s finest landscape gardens, featuring a miniature representation of the 53 stages of the old Tokaido highway within an abstracted landscape.
- Getting there: Sakura or Tsubame Shinkansen from Hakata, about 35-40 minutes, around 5,130 yen. JR Pass is valid.
- Time needed: Half to full day.
