Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Japan: Kyushu and the Setouchi Art Islands
10 days from Fukuoka to Osaka: Nagasaki, a ryokan night in Kurokawa Onsen, the Aso caldera and Beppu, two nights on Naoshima with a day on Teshima, then Kurashiki.
10 days · Fukuoka to Osaka · up to 12 guests
Morning sun over Beppu Bay Photo: 663highland, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beppu_Bay02n4272.jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 10 days, 9 nights
- Start and end
- Fukuoka to Osaka
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Moderate
Easy to moderate walking: about 10,000 to 15,000 steps on most days on paved lanes, shrine and station stairs and museum floors, with hills on Naoshima and Teshima and up to Glover Garden. Kusasenri on Aso sits at about 1,100 m; the optional Kishima-dake climb tops out at about 1,320 m. Day 6 is a long sitting day on trains. You carry a small bag on and off ferries for two nights; any walk can be cut short and the island buses cover the hills.
- Meals included
- 9 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 5 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 1,295 (estimated price)
- Season
- March to May and October to November
Highlights
Why this trip
- Chichu Art Museum in a timed slot: Monet's Water Lilies in daylight and rooms by James Turrell and Walter De Maria
- Teshima Art Museum, a single concrete shell where water beads across the floor, then lunch on the island
- Two nights on Naoshima, so the art day ends with a free evening on the island instead of a race for the last ferry
- A ryokan night in Kurokawa Onsen with a kaiseki dinner and a wooden pass to three open-air baths
- The Aso caldera from Daikanbo, the Kusasenri meadow and, when it is open, the rim of Nakadake's crater
- Beppu's steaming hells at opening and a lunch cooked in hot-spring steam
- Nagasaki with a local peace guide, then Dejima and Glover Garden before the crowds
- Yatai stalls on the Nakasu riverbank in Fukuoka and a farewell street-food dinner in Osaka's Dotonbori
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 1,295 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Fukuoka
Fukuoka Airport to your hotel near Hakata Station
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Fukuoka
- Drive about 30 min
Fly into Fukuoka Airport (FUK), about 5 km from the hotels around Hakata Station, where a driver meets you in arrivals for the short ride to the hotel. Plan to land by about 4 pm; the exact latest arrival is confirmed with your final itinerary, and if you are coming from Tokyo or Osaka instead, the shinkansen to Hakata works just as well. Fukuoka is Kyushu's largest city. Hakata, the old trading quarter by the river, still gives the main station its name, and the city is known across Japan for its food: tonkotsu ramen, mentaiko (spiced pollock roe) and the open-air yatai stalls by the river.
Evening
In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group at the hotel for a short briefing: how the trains, ferries and our van fit together, when your suitcase is sent ahead, and what to pack in a small bag for the two island nights. Then we walk to a welcome dinner of Hakata mizutaki, chicken simmered at the table in a milky broth.
Included
- Pick-up at Fukuoka Airport (FUK)
- Welcome briefing with your guide
- Welcome dinner of Hakata mizutaki
Free time: Free until the evening briefing
Dazaifu, old Hakata and the yatai
Fukuoka to Dazaifu and back, then Hakata and Nakasu on foot
- Breakfast and dinner
- Stay in Fukuoka
- By train
We take the Nishitetsu train to Dazaifu, about 40 minutes, and arrive soon after the gates open, ahead of the school groups. Dazaifu Tenmangu is built over the grave of Sugawara no Michizane, a 9th-century scholar and poet now honoured as the patron of learning, and about 6,000 plum trees fill the grounds, flowering in February and early March. Walk the approach street and try umegae mochi, a grilled rice cake filled with sweet bean paste, then cross the arched bridges over the shrine pond. If you want more history, the Kyushu National Museum sits just behind the shrine (it closes on Mondays).
Afternoon
We are back in the city by early afternoon, and the rest of the afternoon is free: Ohori Park, the ruins of Fukuoka Castle, or a bowl of ramen.
Evening
At dusk your guide leads a walk through Kushida Shrine and the old Hakata lanes to the yatai stalls on the Nakasu riverbank, where we split into small groups across a few stalls for dinner.
Included
- Dazaifu Tenmangu with your guide, and umegae mochi on the approach street
- Evening walk through Kushida Shrine and old Hakata
- Yatai dinner on the Nakasu riverbank
Optional experiences
- Kyushu National Museum in Dazaifu (closed Mondays)
Free time: Lunch on your own; afternoon free in Fukuoka
Activity: Yatai stalls close in heavy rain or storms; if they do, dinner moves to a restaurant in Nakasu.
Nagasaki: the Peace Park and Dejima
Fukuoka to Nagasaki by van
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Nagasaki
- Drive about 2 h
Morning
Our own van and driver join us this morning and stay with the group for four days across Kyushu, carrying the suitcases so you are not lifting them on and off trains. The drive to Nagasaki is about two hours on the expressway. We go first to the Atomic Bomb Museum and the Peace Park, which tell the story of 9 August 1945, when the bomb exploded above the Urakami district at 11:02 am. Allow about two hours here with a local peace guide; a talk by a hibakusha, a survivor of the bombing, is arranged when one is available.
Afternoon
Lunch is champon, Nagasaki's noodle soup piled with seafood and vegetables, in Shinchi Chinatown. In the afternoon we walk Dejima, the fan-shaped artificial island where Dutch traders were confined during Japan's two centuries of isolation, now rebuilt warehouse by warehouse.
Evening
The late afternoon and evening are free. Your guide can point you to the ropeway up Mount Inasa for the night view over the harbour.
Included
- Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, the hypocentre and the Peace Park with a local peace guide
- Champon lunch in Shinchi Chinatown
- Dejima with your guide
Optional experiences
- Mount Inasa ropeway for the night view (paid locally)
Free time: Late afternoon and evening free
Activity: The museum's exhibits on the bombing and its victims are hard to look at; you can leave the exhibition at any point and wait in the Peace Park.
Glover Garden, Kumamoto Castle and a ryokan night
Nagasaki to Kumamoto, then up to Kurokawa Onsen
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Kurokawa Onsen
- Drive about 4 h
Glover Garden opens at 8 am, and we are at the gate early to have the hillside to ourselves. The Former Glover House, built in 1863 for the Scottish merchant Thomas Glover, is the oldest surviving Western-style wooden building in Japan and part of the UNESCO-listed Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution; Oura Church next door, completed in 1865, belongs to the separate UNESCO listing of Hidden Christian sites in the Nagasaki region.
Afternoon
By about 9:30 we are on the road: a little over two hours on the expressway to Kumamoto, with lunch near the castle. Kumamoto Castle was badly damaged in the 2016 earthquakes; its main keep reopened in 2021, and from the raised walkway you look down on stone walls still being rebuilt, work the city expects to run into the 2050s. In the afternoon the road climbs onto the grasslands around Aso to Kurokawa, a village of wooden inns along a narrow river, about an hour and a half away.
Evening
Tonight is a ryokan night: a yukata, a kaiseki dinner and a soak before bed.
Included
- Glover Garden at opening, with the Former Glover House
- Oura Church
- Lunch in Kumamoto
- Kumamoto Castle with your guide
- Kaiseki dinner and the baths at the ryokan
Easier option: Skip the castle's upper walkway and wait in the Sakuranobaba Josaien food and craft street below the walls.
Free time: Evening free at the ryokan
Activity: About four hours of driving today, the most on the trip, split into a morning and an afternoon leg by the castle and lunch.
The Aso caldera, Yufuin and Beppu
Kurokawa Onsen to Daikanbo and Kusasenri, then the Yamanami Highway to Yufuin and Beppu
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Beppu
- Drive about 4 h
Morning
Before breakfast, walk the river path through Kurokawa while steam rises off the baths. Each guest has a nyuto tegata, the wooden pass that opens three of the village's open-air baths: use it this morning or keep it as a souvenir. Then we drive about 40 minutes to Daikanbo on the northern rim of the Aso caldera, one of the largest calderas on earth, where the five central peaks are said to look like a reclining Buddha. We cross the caldera floor to Kusasenri, a grass meadow with a pond below the cone of Eboshi-dake. If the volcano alert level and gas readings allow, we go up to the rim of Nakadake's crater; when it is closed, as it often is, we walk the meadow instead.
Afternoon
Lunch is Aso akaushi beef, from the brown cattle raised on these grasslands. The afternoon drive follows the Yamanami Highway over the Kuju highlands to Yufuin, where you have an hour for Lake Kinrin and the lanes below Mount Yufu, then it is a short run down to Beppu by about 5 pm.
Evening
The evening is free for the town's public baths.
Included
- Nyuto tegata bath pass in Kurokawa
- Daikanbo viewpoint on the Aso caldera rim
- Kusasenri meadow, and the Nakadake crater rim when it is open
- Lunch of Aso akaushi beef
- Yufuin and Lake Kinrin
Easier option: Stay at the Kusasenri viewpoint and the Aso Volcano Museum instead of walking the meadow.
More active option: Climb Kishima-dake from Kusasenri, about an hour up and down, for a view into the active crater area.
Free time: Evening free in Beppu
Activity: Kusasenri sits at about 1,100 m and is often windy and cool; bring a warm layer.
Beppu's hells, then by train to Naoshima
Beppu by van, then train to Kokura, Okayama and Uno, and the ferry to Naoshima
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Naoshima
- Drive about 30 min
Beppu has more hot-spring sources than any other city in Japan, and in the Kannawa district steam drifts from drains, rooftops and garden walls. We are at the hells (jigoku) when they open at 8 am: Umi Jigoku, a cobalt-blue pond that is close to boiling, the bubbling grey mud of Oniishibozu Jigoku, and the red water of Chinoike Jigoku a short drive away.
Afternoon
Then comes a jigoku-mushi lunch: we choose vegetables, seafood and eggs and cook them in baskets over the spring steam. Your suitcase leaves this morning by courier for the Kurashiki hotel; you carry a small bag for the islands. After lunch we take the train: the Sonic limited express up the coast to Kokura, about 1 hour 20 minutes, the Sanyo Shinkansen to Okayama, about 1 hour 40 minutes, and a local train to Uno port, with reserved seats on the long legs. This is the trip's one long travel day, about five hours door to door, because no road gets to the islands faster.
Evening
A 20-minute ferry lands us on Naoshima in the evening, usually around 7 pm depending on the ferry timetable, and dinner together on the island is included.
Included
- The Beppu hells at opening: Umi Jigoku, Oniishibozu Jigoku and Chinoike Jigoku
- Jigoku-mushi steam-cooked lunch in Kannawa
- Suitcase forwarding to Kurashiki
- Trains from Beppu to Uno, and the ferry to Naoshima
- Dinner on Naoshima
Activity: A long sitting day: about four hours on trains with two changes, which your guide manages. Snacks and drinks are easy to buy at the stations.
A full day among Naoshima's museums
Around Naoshima: Chichu, the Benesse area and Honmura
- Breakfast and dinner
- Stay in Naoshima
Naoshima was an island of fishing and copper refining until the Benesse foundation began building art sites here in the late 1980s, many with the architect Tadao Ando. We start at the Chichu Art Museum, set into the hillside so most of it is underground, in our timed entry slot: Claude Monet's Water Lilies lit only by daylight, and rooms by James Turrell and Walter De Maria. Next is the Lee Ufan Museum, then Benesse House Museum on the bluff above the sea, and Yayoi Kusama's yellow Pumpkin on its pier, reinstalled in 2022 after a typhoon swept the first one away.
Afternoon
Lunch is your choice at a cafe in Honmura. In the afternoon we walk Honmura, the old village around the town hall and the scalloped-roof post office, and its Art House Project, old houses and a shrine turned into installations, including Minamidera, a building by Ando for a work by Turrell that you enter in darkness. The late afternoon is free: rent a bike, sit on the beach, or soak in I Love Yu, the bathhouse by Shinro Ohtake by the port.
Evening
Dinner together on the island.
Included
- Chichu Art Museum, timed entry
- Lee Ufan Museum
- Benesse House Museum and the outdoor works along the shore, including Kusama's Pumpkin
- The Art House Project in Honmura, including Minamidera
- Island bus and shuttle fares
- Dinner on Naoshima
Optional experiences
- I Love Yu bathhouse (paid locally)
- Bike hire (paid locally)
Easier option: Ride the island bus and the Benesse shuttle between every site.
More active option: Cycle between the museums by e-bike, about 15 km with some steep hills.
Free time: Lunch on your own in Honmura; late afternoon free
Activity: Most Naoshima museums close on Mondays, so departures are set so this day never falls on one.
Teshima, then the canals of Kurashiki
Naoshima to Teshima by ferry, Teshima to Uno by ferry, then van to Kurashiki
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Kurashiki
- Drive about 1 h
Morning
A morning ferry takes us to Teshima, a greener and quieter island of rice terraces, springs and small fishing ports. From Ieura port we go by island bus up to the terraces above Karato for the Teshima Art Museum, by the architect Ryue Nishizawa and the artist Rei Naito: one low concrete shell with no columns and two open oval holes in its roof, under which water rises from the floor and runs in beads. Entry is on timed tickets, and it is a place for silence, so we take it slowly.
Afternoon
Lunch is at an island cafe cooking with Teshima produce. Down on the shore at Karato, Les Archives du Coeur, by Christian Boltanski, keeps recordings of tens of thousands of heartbeats from around the world; you can listen, and record your own. In the mid-afternoon a ferry runs from Ieura straight to Uno port, where the van waits for the hour's drive to Kurashiki.
Evening
The evening is free in the Bikan quarter, where willows line the canal and the old storehouses are lit after dark.
Included
- Ferries from Naoshima to Teshima and from Teshima to Uno
- Teshima Art Museum, timed entry
- Les Archives du Coeur
- Lunch on Teshima
- Van from Uno to Kurashiki
Optional experiences
- Record your own heartbeat at Les Archives du Coeur (paid locally)
Easier option: Stay on the island bus between Ieura, the art museum and Karato.
More active option: Ride an e-bike from Ieura over the hill to the art museum, about 5 km with a long climb.
Free time: Evening free in Kurashiki
Activity: Teshima Art Museum closes on Tuesdays from March to November, so departures avoid a Tuesday here.
Kurashiki early, Korakuen and on to Osaka
Kurashiki to Okayama by van, then the Shinkansen to Osaka
- Breakfast and dinner
- Stay in Osaka
- Drive about 30 min
Kurashiki's Bikan historical quarter is at its best before about 9 am, before the tour buses: white-walled storehouses with black tiles, the willow-lined canal and stone bridges, and nobody in the frame. At 9 we are at the Ohara Museum of Art, the first museum of Western art in Japan, opened in 1930 by a local textile industrialist, with paintings by El Greco, Monet and Gauguin.
Morning
Mid-morning the van takes us about 30 minutes to Okayama for Korakuen, one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan, laid out for the lords of Okayama around 1700, with lawns, tea houses and the black keep of Okayama Castle borrowed into the view across the river.
Afternoon
Lunch is your choice near the station; Okayama is known for its fruit and its barazushi. Then the Sanyo Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka, about 45 minutes, with your suitcase in seats reserved with the oversized-baggage space. The afternoon is free in Osaka.
Evening
In the evening we walk to Dotonbori and Hozenji Yokocho for a farewell dinner of Osaka street food: takoyaki, okonomiyaki and kushikatsu.
Included
- Early walk through the Kurashiki Bikan historical quarter
- Ohara Museum of Art
- Korakuen garden in Okayama
- Sanyo Shinkansen from Okayama to Shin-Osaka
- Farewell street-food dinner in Dotonbori
Free time: Lunch on your own in Okayama; afternoon free in Osaka
Activity: The Ohara Museum closes on Mondays, so departures avoid a Monday here.
Osaka and home
Osaka to Kansai International Airport
- Breakfast
- Drive about 1 h
Morning
The trip ends after breakfast.
Afternoon
If your flight leaves in the afternoon, the morning is yours: Kuromon Market for a last plate of sushi or grilled scallops, the grounds of Osaka Castle, or a walk through the shopping arcades of Shinsaibashi.
Evening
Your guide checks your flight time the evening before and arranges your transfer: Kansai International Airport (KIX) is about an hour by road, and Osaka Itami (ITM), for flights within Japan, is about 30 minutes. If you are staying on, Kyoto is about 15 minutes from Shin-Osaka by shinkansen, and you can ask us about pairing this trip with our Hiroshima, Kyoto, Osaka and Kanazawa trip for a longer journey through southern and central Japan. Hotels can hold your bags after checkout if your flight is late in the day. We recommend booking a flight home that leaves after about 1 pm.
Included
- Drop-off at Kansai International Airport (KIX) or Osaka Itami (ITM)
Free time: Morning free
Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 1 pm to enjoy the free morning.
- Fukuoka2 nights
- Nagasaki1 night
- Kurokawa Onsen1 night
- Beppu1 night
- Naoshima2 nights
- Kurashiki1 night
- Osaka1 night
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: Spring and autumn are mild and mostly dry. Kyushu's rainy season runs from about late May or early June to mid-July, summer is hot and humid, and typhoons from August to October can cancel Inland Sea ferries and close roads on Aso. Aso and Kurokawa are cold in winter, with snow some years. The Nakadake crater rim closes whenever volcanic gas or the alert level rises, at any time of year.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- A second trip to Japan, after Tokyo and Kyoto
- Art and architecture lovers: Ando, Turrell, Nishizawa and Kusama
- Onsen, food and quiet island evenings more than shopping
- A mix of guided days and free afternoons
Not for you if you want
- First-time visitors set on Tokyo, Kyoto and Mount Fuji
- Step-free access: ferries, hills, and stairs at stations and shrines
- Big-city nightlife every night: the island evenings are quiet
- Travellers who want one hotel for the week: there are seven bases
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
9 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Fukuoka2 nights
- Nagasaki1 night
- Kurokawa Onsen1 night
- Beppu1 night
- Naoshima2 nights
- Kurashiki1 night
- Osaka1 night
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 9 nights: 2 in Fukuoka near Hakata Station, 1 in central Nagasaki, 1 in a ryokan in Kurokawa Onsen, 1 in Beppu, 2 on Naoshima, 1 in Kurashiki near the Bikan quarter, 1 in Osaka near Namba
- Hotels of at least a 3-star-plus standard, named when we confirm your dates
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up at Fukuoka Airport (FUK)
- Nishitetsu train to Dazaifu and back
- Our own vehicle and driver across Kyushu from day 3 to day 6, carrying your suitcase
- Reserved seats on the Sonic limited express from Beppu to Kokura and the Sanyo Shinkansen from Kokura to Okayama, and the train to Uno
- Ferries from Uno to Naoshima, Naoshima to Teshima and Teshima to Uno
- Island buses and the Benesse shuttle on Naoshima and Teshima
- Suitcase forwarding from Beppu to Kurashiki
- A private vehicle from Uno to Kurashiki on day 8 and from Kurashiki to Okayama on day 9
- Reserved seats on the Sanyo Shinkansen from Okayama to Shin-Osaka
- Drop-off at Kansai International Airport (KIX) or Osaka Itami (ITM)
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide with the group from the first evening in Fukuoka to the last morning in Osaka
- A local peace guide in Nagasaki
Activities
- Dazaifu: Dazaifu Tenmangu
- Fukuoka: evening walk through Kushida Shrine and old Hakata to the Nakasu yatai
- Nagasaki: Atomic Bomb Museum, the hypocentre and the Peace Park, Dejima, Glover Garden and Oura Church
- Kumamoto: Kumamoto Castle
- Kurokawa Onsen: the ryokan baths and a nyuto tegata pass to three open-air baths
- Aso: Daikanbo, Kusasenri and the Nakadake crater rim when open
- Yufuin: Lake Kinrin
- Beppu: the hells (Umi, Oniishibozu and Chinoike Jigoku)
- Naoshima: Chichu Art Museum, Lee Ufan Museum, Benesse House Museum and the Art House Project
- Teshima: Teshima Art Museum and Les Archives du Coeur
- Kurashiki: the Bikan quarter and the Ohara Museum of Art
- Okayama: Korakuen garden
- All entrance fees for included sights, with timed tickets booked for you
Meals
- All 9 breakfasts
- 5 lunches: champon in Nagasaki, lunch in Kumamoto, Aso akaushi beef, a jigoku-mushi steam lunch in Beppu and an island lunch on Teshima
- 6 dinners: a welcome mizutaki dinner in Fukuoka, a yatai evening, a kaiseki dinner at the ryokan, two dinners on Naoshima and a farewell street-food dinner in Osaka
Not included
- International flights to Fukuoka and home from Osaka
- Visa or travel authorisation fees, if your passport needs one
- Travel insurance
- Lunches on days 2, 7, 9 and 10, and dinners in Nagasaki, Beppu and Kurashiki
- Drinks
- Tips (not expected in Japan)
- Optional activities: the Mount Inasa ropeway, the Kyushu National Museum, recording your heartbeat at Les Archives du Coeur, the I Love Yu bathhouse and bike hire
- Personal expenses
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 1,295 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the price include?
Nine nights in central hotels, a Kurokawa ryokan and two nights on Naoshima, 9 breakfasts, 5 lunches and 6 dinners, airport transfers, our own van in Kyushu, all trains and ferries, suitcase forwarding, your See Sight Tours guide throughout, and every visit in the day plan, including all the Naoshima and Teshima art museums with timed tickets.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests. That is small enough to sit together at a yatai, share island buses and fit into timed museum slots like Chichu and Teshima Art Museum, where large groups are hard to place.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group from the first evening in Fukuoka to the last morning in Osaka, handling every train, ferry and ticket. A local peace guide joins us in Nagasaki. We introduce your guide before you travel and send a pre-departure pack with the daily plan.
How fit do I need to be?
Moderately fit: most days mean 10,000 to 15,000 steps, with hills on the islands and stairs at stations and shrines. Each harder day has an easy option, such as the island bus instead of an e-bike. Day 6 is mostly sitting on trains.
I am travelling solo. What does a room of my own cost?
Solo travellers are welcome. A room of your own is from CAD 1,295 more, which reflects what Japanese hotels and the ryokan charge for a single guest, and it is shown before you request to book. If you would rather share, tell us and we will try to pair you with another solo guest.
When is the best time to go?
March to May and October to November, with mild weather and calm seas for the ferries. Kyushu's rainy season runs from about early June to mid-July, summer is hot and humid, and typhoons from August to October can cancel ferries. Aso and Kurokawa are cold in winter.
How do I book, and when do I pay?
Choose a start date and send a request to book. We confirm your place within 24 hours, and no payment is taken until then. The small group starts from CAD 7,495 per person sharing, taxes included; the private trip starts from CAD 13,490 per person.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. Besides the small group, the trip comes as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose, with your own guide. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section and we will quote the same hotels, ryokan, trains, ferries and museum tickets.
Do I need a visa for Japan?
Citizens of Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and most of Europe can visit Japan without a visa for short tourist stays. Rules change and Japan plans an online pre-travel authorisation, so check the requirements for your passport before you book flights.
Can I use the onsen if I have tattoos?
Often not in public baths: many onsen in Japan still turn away visible tattoos, though small ones can be covered with a patch in some places. Tell us when you book and we arrange a private bath or a room with its own bath at the Kurokawa ryokan.
Why does the trip start in Fukuoka and end in Osaka?
It saves a day of backtracking. Fly into Fukuoka (FUK) and home from Kansai (KIX), which most airlines price as one open-jaw ticket. You can also reach Fukuoka from Tokyo or Osaka by shinkansen, and stay on in Osaka to continue to Kyoto, or ask us about pairing it with our Hiroshima, Kyoto and Kanazawa trip.
What happens to my suitcase on the islands?
It rides in our van across Kyushu, then goes ahead by courier from Beppu to the Kurashiki hotel, where it waits for you on day 8. For the two Naoshima nights you carry a small overnight bag on and off the ferries, which keeps the island days light.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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