TRIP START
City: Fukuoka
Airport: Fukuoka Airport (FUK)
Meeting Location and Schedule: The group will meet in Fukuoka (outside of the Starbucks beneath the Miyako Hotel Hakata, Address: Starbucks) on your trip’s start date at 1:30pm local time. We’ll start the trip with a quick welcome conversation and then travel to Karatsu together, where we will check into our hotel. More on getting to Fukuoka below!
For a comfortable, clean and affordable hotel option in Fukuoka, our team recommends Miyako Hotel Hakata.
TRIP END
City: Kyoto
Airport: Osaka Itami Airport (ITM)
Departure Info and Schedule: Your trip will end in Kyoto with the last activity being breakfast at your leisure the morning your trip ends. You can book a train or flight out of Kyoto as you choose, and depending on availability, you may be able to extend your stay in Kyoto.
If you catch a train to the airport from Tokyo Station, plan for a 75-minute ride to Narita airport. Getting to Haneda airport is slightly more complicated, as you’ll take the Yamanote line to Hamamatsucho Station (7 minutes), and then transfer to Tokyo Monorail directly to Haneda (18 minutes).
If you extend your stay in Tokyo, we recommend the Wild Terrains Tokyo City Guide (coming soon!).
TIPS FOR BOOKING YOUR FLIGHTS
Tip #1: Choose a roundtrip international flight to/from Tokyo and a one-way flight to Fukuoka
The group will meet in Fukuoka at the start of your trip. We recommend booking a round-trip plane ticket to Tokyo, arriving at least one day before the start of the trip, and then booking a separate domestic flight to Fukuoka. Domestic flights in Japan are generally straightforward and very punctual. Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airlines (ANA) are the two main airlines. Once in Fukuoka, you can get around easily via Uber or local train.
Instead of a domestic flight to Fukuoka, you can take a high speed train to Fukuoka, but it’s a 6.5-hour ride, which might not feel great after your long international flight!
Depending on your city of origin, you might find that a round trip ticket to Seoul or Busan, South Korea is more economical. Just remember that you will need to arrange travel back to that city after the group trip ends in Kyoto.
Tip #2: Return to Tokyo from Kyoto via Train
Your trip will end in Kyoto. If your roundtrip international flight arrives and departs from Tokyo, train will be the best way to return to Tokyo after the trip ends in Kyoto. Train travel is clean, efficient, comfortable, and very common in Japan. Japan Railways (JR) is the most prominent rail company in the country. You can buy your tickets at the train station on the day of your train travel using vending machines that are easy to operate in English, just note that you will need to pay for your ticket with cash and you might need to book in advance if you are traveling with oversized luggage.
JET LAG
If you tend to suffer from jet lag, we strongly recommend that you plan to arrive in Japan 2-3 days before the start of your group trip. Even if you have traveled more than 5-6 time zones away from home, you may find that the impact of traveling 10-13 time zones away is much more intense and takes a longer recovery time. Wild Terrains’ team of well-seasoned travelers has some wild stories about the effects of jet lag from one side of the world to another! Take it from us, you don’t need to be a hero :) Here’s a jet-lag-gentle itinerary we suggest:
- Thursday: Travel from home to Tokyo
- Friday: Arrive in Tokyo, fly to Fukuoka
- Saturday: Rest in Fukuoka
- Sunday: Meet your Wild Terrains group in Fukuoka and start your trip!