Yearning to escape into lush landscapes and tranquility? Our family decided to discover Kyushu, Japan’s third largest island in the South – with two young toddlers under 4. Besides the volcanic landscapes that beckoned, we also wanted to experience Kyushu’s rich culinary and cultural heritage. Spring was the perfect temperature and all we needed to pack were clothes to layer on with windbreaker jackets.
8-Day Self-Drive Family Trip To Kyushu With Young Children
We decided to embark on our first family self-drive road trip for 8 days, giving us sufficient time to pause and explore the volcanic region and sights along our road trip route from Fukuoka (2 nights) to Yufuin (2 nights) to Aso (3 nights) before we headed back to Fukuoka Airport. In Fukuoka we took public transport and uber which was very convenient.
Planning Tips for a Family of Four with Two Young Toddlers
To save time, we flew into Fukuoka on redeye via Japan Airlines with a smooth transit in Tokyo. We chose a full service Airline in consideration of our luggage weight since we reckon we might go heavy on shopping.
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Our accomodation was a blend of Airbnb and traditional Ryokan to enjoy the best of both worlds, and manage the overall travel budget – staying in a Ryokan with onsens can be expensive!
We also planned for every accom to be near an accessible 7-11 or supermarket with free parking so we can replenish our supplies and stock up on grab & go breakfast especially on checkout days. The kids loved night (snack) shopping at 7-11 and loved the morning DIY fruit vegetable smoothies which moved their bowels well 🙂
Must-have apps include Google translate – the image scanning translator tool came in so handy for reading menus, snacks, and everything Japanese. With Japan’s history of earthquakes, I also wrote in to each accom to ensure they adhered to the latest earthquake safety standards and provided an evacuation route – just to have a peace of mind since we had two young toddlers.
Day 1 & 2: Fukuoka
The first 2 days in Fukuoka were rainy and we optimised our time indoors at Fukuoka Team Labs and Fukuoka Wooden Toy Museum.
Team Labs Forest is located on L5 of BOSS E ZO Fukuoka, a multi-level entertainment complex. Our toddlers couldn’t get enough of the immersive, psychedelic interactive forestscapes with cheeky dinosaurs to catch using the AR app.
Each immersive room was a full workout for the kids with bouncy trampoline like balls, hilly slide slopes and larger than life balloons. Hungry? Dine affordably at the Foodhall on L3 with a good variety of options. Families with older kids can also try out the V World VR amusement park and the Baseball Museum. We spent about 3 hours there and the kids were completely exhausted.
The next day, we caught the JR train to Fukuoka Wooden Toy Museum located at Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport Mall, known for its iconic gigantic Gundam Stature, Gundam gaming and shopping zones and diverse Food Court. For a good 2 hours, the kids indulged in all kinds of sensory, interactive and imaginative play and loved exploring all the traditional Japanese wooden toys.
Big and little pea, spent loads of time in the wooden forest, “fishing” out caterpillars from tree barks, harvesting fruits and rolling around among cedar and cypress wooden balls. We loved the hospitality of the elderly service staff, teaching us how to spin wooden tops and build sky-high octagonal towers.
For babies under 2, there is a close-off safe zone with similar play and structural elements to build motor skills confidence through tactile play.
Day 3, 4 and 5: Yufuin via Saga, Onta
The next morning, we collected our MPV from Tokyo Rent a Car located near our airbnb. We chose to go with Toyota Noah, a boxy 7-8 seater for maximum comfort with 2 child car seats behind. The space provided us the flexibility to eat on the go, change diapers in the car, or for one of us to sit between the car seats to accompany the kids during the road trip.
Towards Yufuin, we made a lunch stopover at Saga, Kira Honten to try the famous Saga beef and did a quick scenic photoshoot at Ukiha Inari Torri Shrine.
Onta pottery village was a lovely experience visiting a family-run gallery who housed a beautiful selection of Onta-yaki (Onta ware) ceramics.
Yufuin’s Floral Village, Kyushu Wildlife Park and Beppu’s Hot Springs
Reaching into Yufuin, we had the famous claypot beef bowls at Yufumabushi Shin, savouring the tender and juicy Bungo Oita Wagyu Beef. It was so good, we ordered the Bento takeaway on our last day in Yufuin to eat on the go.
Visit Yufuin Floral Village if you are keen to take some Kawaii Shots at Miffy, Snoopy or Woodstock Bakery Bistros with the kids – but in our opinion, the village of Ghibli is overly crowded and touristy.
We opted to spend more time around Lake Kinrin, slurping up at handmade soba noodles made with cold mountain spring water at Koshiki Teuchi Soba Izumi, right by the tranquil water’s edge.
The next day, we drove out to Kyushu Wildlife Park and had an out-of-the world safari experience. We chose to drive into the park so the kids could munch on brunch while taking in breathtaking views of the wildlife and landscape upclose.
Each zone was safely gated and the girls were so delighted to view the majestic creatures lumber and amble lesiurely in their own natural habitat. Big and Little pea enjoyed feeding the baby ponies and goats as well and we spent a good 2 hours in the park.
In the later afternoon, we visited the steaming “Hell” hot spring pools of Beppu, which were thematically zoned. The girls gleed with delight at the bubbling coloured pools, and swirling steam all surround.
They loved soaking their tired little feet at the hot spring pavilion and we ended the day with hot bowls of traditionally cut Dango noodles and Crispy Toriten Chicken, signature dishes of Beppu.
Big and Little pea absolutely adored our 3 night stay at Yufuin Hotel Shuhokan. It was just a few mins drive from the main train central station where all the dining options and 7-11 were. They enjoyed choosing their own bath robes and delighted at the free bath kit. The tatami mats and quilts were fluffy and the room was so spacious. We enjoyed his and hers separate onsens, taking turns to sneak out while the kids slept.
Days 6 to 8: Volcanoes and Grasslands of Aso and Takachiho Gorge
Aso Kuju National Park was the highlight of our trip. As we drove through the kuju mountains along the milk route, the scenery transformed into lush mountainous views all surround with soft hilly slopes. The drive was scenic and very tranquil.
It felt like we were entering another world. As the main volcano was closed off due to a helicopter sight seeing accident, we took in the panoramic beauty of all five volcanoes at Kusasenri Observatory. It was an easy and breezy hike up for the little ones!
We spent the next day at Kusasenri-ga-hama grasslands, an expansive grassy basin with tranquil ponds mirroring the blue happy skies and grazing horses, with the smoking Mount Nakadake in the background. Big and Little Pea ran through the grasslands free-spiritedly while we munched on fresh bakes and coffee from Bakery Genki.
Big Pea had her first horse riding experience on a beautiful and majestic sturdy horse, almost five times larger than our usual horses! Most of the dining options and major supermarkets are located closer to the Aso train station, so do head back early to catch dinner.
The next day we drove out a couple of hours to Takachiho Gorge located in Miyazaki Prefecture. We had lunch at Cafe Takachiho-base that had a small play area and the most crispy Chicken Nanban.
Belly happy, we took the board walk up towards the iconic viewpoint of Takachiho Gorge. We were blessed by the most beautiful rainbow through the falls as tourists paddling bright turquoise boats tried to avoid bumping into each other. Book in advance for a paddling slot.
A Memorable Family Trip in Kyushu
We truly enjoyed the warm hospitality of the people in Kyushu, down to the experiencing the artisanal culture of Kurume Kasuri indigo weaving first-hand, tasting locally made miso of different flavours and buying made-in-japan shoes from Moonstar Shoe Factory. More of Kyushu awaits next time!
