10-day road trip in January 2025. We started from Fukuoka Airport – Beppu – Oita – Kumamoto – Saga – Nagasaki – Fukuoka.
In this trip, there were 7 friends in total, renting a car for the entire trip. The mission was to try to Don't take the expressway In Japan, if there is no necessary event, because we want to experience the route and the surrounding community as we go, we have enough time, we are not in a rush, and we can save a lot on expressway fees.
At first, we booked with Macau Airlines with a connecting flight in Macau. We booked about 10 months in advance, but the ticket was cancelled, so we booked with Thai AirAsia instead.
Flight at 2 am on January 16, 2025. Night flight is not really suitable for people over 40. The backrest is hard, not soft, not comfortable to sit on. Sleepless. Arrive at Fukuoka Airport at 9 am. The airport is not small, not big, not crowded. There is an excellent security system before entering. We received our bags and car. We rented a car from a Thai person who was there. We got a 7-seat Alphard car. The advantage is that there is no deposit and no hassle with paperwork. Insurance is included in the price. When the car is ready, we started our trip.
Day 1 Fukuoka – Beppu
Main tourist attractions
- Nanzoin Temple Nanzoin Temple
- Tram to see the temple on the mountaintop Hiko San
- Riverside suspension bridge Sarutobi Sentsubo (Didn't stop by because I didn't have enough time. Click on the link in case anyone is interested in going.)
Nanzoin Temple
The first restaurant on the way to Nanzoin Temple, we ate at Yoshinoya Of course, we prepared every menu with standard Thai flavors. The temperature when we arrived was around 2-5 degrees Celsius and when we finished eating, it started to snow lightly.
When we arrived at the temple, it was drizzling and no longer snowing. There are two types of parking: paid parking so you can park nearby, and free parking that is a bit farther away. We chose paid parking right next to the entrance. The wind was strong and cold along the way. Other reviews said to come here to pray for good luck in the lottery...yes, we won the lottery that evening. We had money to continue our trip.
It is a wonderful place to visit.
website : http://hikosan-slopecar.net/
Map : Hikosan
Hikosan was found by chance while mapping a route on Google Maps. It is very beautiful. If you go at the beginning of the year, there will be snow. There is a charge for the cable car to go up to the temple. You can check the price on the website. On the way up, there will be a kind officer who will try to communicate and give advice to you. There are souvenirs for sale downstairs. Take the cable car to the top of the mountain and you will find an old temple. You can choose to walk up the stairs or take the cable car.
The road along the way is covered with snow but not too much. Cars without snow wheels can come but must be very careful because it will be slippery.
After finishing at Hikosan, we headed to the guesthouse in Beppu. We couldn't go the way that Google Maps told us to because the snow was very thick on the roads and they were very slippery. (The rental car provided snow socks, but we were too lazy to put them on, so we went back the same way to Beppu instead of the way that Google Maps told us to go.)
Beppu – Guest House
Map : U&T
Cleanliness: 10 | Location: near supermarket, Lawson, city center
Note: It's a bit hard to find. If you follow the recommended map, park at A Price supermarket first, then call the staff to check in (if you can speak English, they will ask where you booked, tell them it's next to A Price, they will walk from the building on the opposite side in a moment). Then we move the car around to the alley behind to park in the parking lot (that's why it's recommended to park at A Price and walk around to check out the parking lot first).
The accommodation is located in the city center, surrounded by various convenience stores. Behind the house is Supermarket A-Price, which sells fresh food or food that needs to be cooked. If you want to cook at home, you can buy it here next to the accommodation. You can check the products for sale on the website. https://tcc.to-ho.co.jp
*The house has a washing machine and a dryer. Booked through booking.com, the price for 2 nights is 9,100 baht.
One day is over
