Ideas for a Few Days in Japan - Late May, Southern Honshu (Shikoku, Hiroshima, Fukuoka)

Lguyvb on 11/04/2024 - 21:03

I'm trying to fill in a few days in the middle of a three week Japan trip. Rest of the trip is pretty sorted.

We finish the Shimanami Kaido at Imabari on Shikoku on Sunday 26th. Thursday 30th we're booked into a hotel in Hiroshima. Between those two days I'm investigating options / looking for ideas. We'll have been travelling for a couple weeks already, so the idea is a have few quiet days to recharge the batteries before Hiroshima and then onwards to Tokyo.

At the moment I'm leaning towards booking into a ryokan at an onsen somewhere quiet-ish and just relaxing. Fukuoka is appealing, but I wouldn't want to travel any further than that on the Sunday after three days on the bicycles (it's a roughly 3 to 4 hour bus/train trip, Imabari to Fukuoka). Beaches are also nice for a late spring wander.

We'll have already done a few days in Kyoto, and we've been there once already (and Osaka & Nara), so I'd prefer to head southwards to places we haven't been to yet.

I'm not against the idea of hiring a car, but keep in mind the idea of these few days is rest and recharging.

Thoughts, ideas, suggestions?

Travel Asia Japan

Comments

  • DeepPocketsShortArms on 11/04/2024 - 21:43
    +2

    I've just spent a few days exploring the Shimanto River with my wife and 7 year son. Beautiful scenery and very laid back. It's like stepping back in time. You need a car though.

    • guyvb on 11/04/2024 - 21:48

      Nice, cheers. Mind if I ask where you rented the car from?

      • DeepPocketsShortArms on 12/04/2024 - 08:02

        Rented in Takamatsu and will be returning it to Fukuoka next week.

    • AustriaBargain on 11/04/2024 - 22:52
      +4

      stepping back in time. You need a car though.

      You just explained the entire plot to Back to the Future.

  • altomic on 11/04/2024 - 22:03
    +4

    fukuoka city- there is ainoshima island very close by.

    its a small cat island. (the island is small, the cats are regular size). it's cool to walk around the island.

    I went with my kids and discovered the local dump there (open pit) - mostly old furniture, and house hold stuff - regular "trash/garbage" goes to the mainland. that was fun checking it out. they'd just dumped an old couples household possessions off -crazy stuff dating from the late 40s.

    kyushu is pretty cool. less populated. the southern beaches are beautiful.

    I previously lived in Tokyo and Sendai and only went as far south as Hiroshima. Kyushu was a nice surprise. especially east of kagoshima. I'd happily go back and spend a month travelling around kyushu.

    I took a bus from Hiroshima to Fukuoaka, then hired a car and drove to Nichinan (south of Miyazaki) and stayed a few days there - just drove around randomly. stumbled upon an old deserted fishing port (found by climbing coastal cliffs around a headland in to a small sheltered bay- the only access to this port was via a WW2 tunnel which had been sealed off in the 80s so my daughter and I had to scale the extremely steep treed hills to get back to our car) .

    one night we got lost driving through the mountains and were following a random single lane road through forest for about 5 kms -"hey, why not?". saw bright lights in the distance and thought "city!, we're almost home". got to the lights and there were SDF soldiers with guns guarding a massive gate which was lit by flood lights. they told me to turn around immediately. so we did and after a kilometre took a small side road - which, in my head "must lead somewhere", followed that road as it got narrower and narrower until bushes were scrapping the car, and then the asphalt just stopped and it was dirt. so I stopped the car and turned off the headlights to see if any other lights appeared nearby. so sitting in the dark, in the mountains, in a forest and we could see the stars above, and suddenly we started seeing small lights everywhere. and we had stumbled upon a firefly forest. and shortly we had 100s of fireflies flying around us. after 10 minutes the kids started getting tired/concerned as it was otherwise pitch-black so we headed back the way we had come and finally found a sign posted road that took us back to civilisation.

    after a few days down south I dropped the car at Kagoshima airport and flew to Narita ($80 flight) .

    • guyvb on 11/04/2024 - 22:06

      Awesome. Thanks for taking the time to reply :)

      • altomic on 11/04/2024 - 22:20
        +2

        given that you only have a couple of days then maybe stay near hiroshima. maybe 50 km away.

        honestly, just chill somewhere remote. take in the scenery. look for the "lost"

        I highly recommend reading the book - "The Roads to Sata" by Alan Booth. it's by an english guy who lived in Japan in the 80s and walked from the northernness point of hokkaido to the southernness point of kyushu - Sata. Alan was a very chill guy who just liked to experience "real" japan.

        nothing is more enjoyable in Japan than following a random road and discovering something strange and unique.

        but then experiencing the everydayness of average Japanese life is also fun.

        the beauty of japan is often found in the mundane.

        enjoy

        • ForkSnorter on 12/04/2024 - 08:11

          The Roads to Sata also has some scenes that are eye-wateringly funny.

          • guyvb on 12/04/2024 - 08:21
            +1

            @ForkSnorter: I jumped straight onto Amazon last night and ordered it, delivery tomorrow.

    • furyou on 20/04/2024 - 23:17

      that's pretty cool. was hoping for an alien story at the end.Are fireflies seasonal?

  • donga100 on 11/04/2024 - 22:25
    +1

    Kochi and surrounding area is really nice and has a different, more relaxed and rural, vibe than the rest of Japan. Renting a car would be the easiest way to get around. There is lots to see and do including the Anpanman Museum. You may have already planned to visit other Anpanman museums/attractions in Japan but this one is considered the best and most pure experience due to being the birth place of Yanase himself.

  • dtc on 11/04/2024 - 22:53
    +1

    Naoshima Island could be worth a look, although I'm not sure how long it takes to get there from Imabari, but shouldnt be too excessive (train to Takamatsu then ferry I think, only a few hours). You can then ferry over to Okayama and shinkansen straight to Hiroshima.

    You could ferry hop across to Beppu, plenty of onsen there; duck over to Yufuin (although just looked, might be a bit far/long trip)

    Maybe just go to Matsuyama and do a day trip to Ozu or Uchiko. Then catch the ferry straight to Hiroshima

  • jv on 11/04/2024 - 23:10
    -1

    Ideas for a Few Days in Japan

    Try the sushi.

  • kanmen on 11/04/2024 - 23:12
    +1

    We hired a car from Fukuoka and spent a lovely night at a Ryokan in the Oita area, just past Hita, about a 2 hour drive from Fukoka. Even if you don't want to go as far south as Fukuoka or away from there, I'm sure there would be some really nice ryokan's with onsens in the Hiroshima area. The Oita mountains were really nice though

  • ForkSnorter on 12/04/2024 - 08:09
    +2

    At Imabari you will be close to Matsuyama in Ehime Prefecture. Matsuyama has an old castle atop a big hill overlooking the entire city, with a very nice view of the city and mountains. It has a chairlift to get down from the castle.

    It has one of the most famous historical onsens in Japan (Dogo Onsen). Dogo Onsen features prominently in Natsume Soseki's novel Botchan, which is one of the most famous novels of early 20th century Japan, and a major cultural point in Japan's literature. Dogo Onsen was also the model for the bathhouse in Miyazaki Hayao's movie "Spirited Away". Spirited Away is arguable the most successful artistic animation in history, as it was the first animated movie to win the top prize at the Berlin International Film Festival among many other awards. Dōgo Onsen is not really as relaxing or accessible as a typical onsen resort, as most people go there for the historical experience. It is quite busy, and has a slightly complicated entry and exit procedure.

    Another option is Himeji, which is unmissable if you like castles as it has the best castle in Japan. Kind of in the opposite direction from Hiroshima though. My knowledge of this area is limited other than these cities.

  • guyvb on 14/04/2024 - 11:32

    Many thanks to all who responded. In the end we've decided to cut down on the travel and focus on the resting. so we're going to hire a car in Imabari and just explore Shikoku for a few quiet days before training down to Hiroshima.

    And FYI, by page 10 of 'The Roads to Sata' I had already lost it laughing a couple if times :)

    • dtc on 14/04/2024 - 14:35
      +2

      Sounds sensible. Don’t forget you can get a ferry from Matsuyama to Hiroshima (2hrs) and it’s a lot cheaper than the train, unless you have a pass already.

      If you do want to train, see if this pass helps (although it depends on your other plans, it won’t pay off for the one way trip) https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_okayama_yamaguchi.html

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