Practical transportation tips for families traveling around Kyushu, including trains, buses, and car rentals.
Oita Airport (OIT) sits on a peninsula across the bay from Beppu. Instead of the long bus ride around the bay, you can hop on a hovercraft that reaches central Beppu in just 50 minutes. With kids, it’s one of the more memorable airport arrivals in Japan: arrival hall → free onsen foot bath → … Read more
Kagoshima Airport (KOJ) is the gateway to southern Kyushu — Sakurajima volcano, Ibusuki sand baths, the Yakushima ferry, and the Kirishima onsen region. With kids, it’s one of Japan’s more family-friendly mid-size airports. You’ll find a free indoor foot bath inside the terminal, two large nursing rooms, and a limousine bus that runs straight to … Read more
Saga Airport (HSG) is one of Kyushu’s smaller airports — roughly 1/10 the passenger volume of Fukuoka. But for families flying in from Tokyo or Seoul, it’s often the easier place to land with kids. You get a compact terminal, shorter security lines, and no long stroller treks between gates. Best of all, it puts … Read more
The JR Kyushu Rail Pass is one of the best-value transport passes in Japan for families. For trips that stay within Kyushu, it is significantly cheaper than the JR-wide Pass. It covers all Shinkansen, limited expresses, and the famous D&S sightseeing trains. With kids the savings grow fast: children aged 6-11 ride at half price, … Read more
JR Kyushu’s “D&S Trains” (Design & Story sightseeing trains) are a quietly amazing family travel resource. Think themed rides with retro wooden interiors, panoramic windows, and kid-engaging design touches — plus the practical win of skipping a rental car day. With 12+ named D&S trains crisscrossing Kyushu, families can build entire trip days around one … Read more
Driving Kyushu with kids is the difference between a smooth, scenic family trip and a complicated train-and-bus puzzle. The prefecture’s biggest family attractions — Mount Aso, Kurokawa Onsen, the Nichinan coastal road, the Sakurajima loop, the Yamanami Highway — either require a car outright or work much better when you have one. With kids, the … Read more
Miyazaki sits in the southeastern corner of Kyushu, and that location shapes how families approach it. Train access from Fukuoka takes 5+ hours and isn’t a realistic family option. Flying into Miyazaki Airport (or Kagoshima Airport plus a drive) is the standard approach instead. Once you’re on the ground, Miyazaki City and Aoshima are train-friendly. … Read more
Getting around Saga with kids is easier than most of Kyushu. Saga is one of the region’s quieter prefectures, which means fewer crowded transfers and less competition for rental cars. A shinkansen-supported approach via the Nishi-Kyushu Kamome line gets your family in fast. Once inside Saga, the JR Karatsu and Sasebo lines handle the train-friendly … Read more
Nagasaki with kids is one of Kyushu’s better-organized prefectures for public transport. The new Nishi-Kyushu Kamome shinkansen makes the Hakata approach faster than ever, and the city tram reaches virtually every kid-friendly attraction. JR’s Seaside Liner connects Nagasaki to Sasebo and Huis Ten Bosch in under 2 hours, so most of the prefecture is reachable … Read more
Oita with kids is mostly easy on transport — the Sonic limited express from Hakata gets you to Beppu in 2 hours flat, the famous Yufuin no Mori tourist train handles the Yufuin leg as an experience in itself, and most family hotels run free shuttles from Beppu Station. The trickier legs (African Safari, Harmony … Read more
