The Grand Southern Rail Journey

Arrive at Kansai International Airport and take JR or Nankai one stop to Rinku Town. Follow the hotel directions to OMO Kansai Airport, close to the station.

Keep the first evening simple: unpack, eat and settle into the time zone. If daylight and energy allow, take a short waterfront walk. The hotel's baths offer a comfortable first introduction to Japanese bathing; there is no need to cross Osaka with your suitcase tonight.

A quiet version stays around Rinku's waterfront, cafés and shops. For a first taste of Osaka, leave the main bag at the hotel and ride Nankai into Namba. Explore Dotonbori and the surrounding streets, then return before the day becomes tiring. This is a useful low-pressure practice journey before the longer rail days. Check tomorrow's tickets and pack a light day bag with food and water.

Travel from Rinku Town to Tennoji on a JR Kansai Airport Rapid, then use a suitable JR connection to Shin-Osaka; a reserved Haruka from Tennoji is a comfortable option. At Shin-Osaka, follow the Shinkansen signs and board your reserved train to Hiroshima.

Allow a generous transfer rather than chasing the shortest connection. Check in near Hiroshima Station, then spend the remaining afternoon in Shukkei-en or on a gentle riverside walk. Try Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki for dinner.

Give the Peace Memorial Park, Atomic Bomb Dome and Peace Memorial Museum the morning they deserve. Check the museum's current admission arrangements before choosing an entry time.

Leave space afterwards for lunch and a quiet walk rather than stacking the day with attractions. A garden, a café or the shopping streets can fill the afternoon according to how you feel. This core itinerary stays in Hiroshima city; Miyajima is best added with extra time rather than squeezed into this day.

Take the Sanyo Shinkansen to Hakata, Fukuoka's main intercity station. Leave your bag at the hotel before exploring. Choose an easy walk around the old Hakata temple district or a relaxed circuit of Ohori Park. In the evening, try Hakata ramen or a yatai food stall if one with a clear menu and available seat appeals. The point is one enjoyable Fukuoka evening, with an easy start for Nagasaki tomorrow.

Board Relay Kamome at Hakata. At Takeo-Onsen, change across the same platform to the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen Kamome for Nagasaki. These are two trains; keep both journey sections and seat details handy.

In Nagasaki, walk to the tram stop or take a taxi to your Shinchi Chinatown hotel. After settling in, explore Dejima and the harbour at an easy pace, then have champon noodles or a Chinatown dinner. Finish with Candeo's rooftop SkySpa.

Spend the morning around the former foreign settlement and Glover Garden, using local transport or a taxi to reduce uphill walking. Pause for lunch rather than rushing straight to the next neighbourhood.

In the afternoon choose either the Peace Park and Atomic Bomb Museum or the riverside streets around Meganebashi. An evening viewpoint is a weather-dependent extra, not a compulsory late night. Two nights mean you can enjoy Nagasaki without returning to the station immediately after arriving.

Take Kamome to Takeo-Onsen, change to Relay Kamome for Hakata, then take Limited Express Sonic to Beppu. This is the longest transfer of the journey; leave sightseeing until after arrival.

Buy lunch before boarding Sonic because onboard sales are not provided. Sonic reverses direction at Kokura, so do not mistake that for your stop when travelling through to Beppu. Check in, enjoy a bath and take a short bay-side walk if you feel like one.

Use a local bus or taxi to reach Kannawa. Choose a manageable selection of the Hells of Beppu and leave time to look properly. These extraordinary boiling pools are sightseeing places, not bathing pools. Try jigoku-mushi food cooked with natural steam, then spend the afternoon in an actual bathing facility or return to the hotel's onsen. You do not have to see every hell to have a memorable day.

Take Sonic to Kokura, change to the Sanyo Shinkansen for Okayama, then take a local Sanyo Line train to Kurashiki. Use Kurashiki Station, not the separate Shin-Kurashiki Shinkansen station.

Leave your bag at the hotel and walk into the Bikan Historical Quarter. This overnight is deliberately about the late afternoon and evening: white-walled storehouses, small galleries, canal reflections and dinner after the day-trip crowds have eased.

Return to the canal before breakfast or visit the Ohara Museum of Art if its opening day suits. Travel via Okayama to Kyoto.

If using the recommended regional pass, take the Shinkansen only as far as Shin-Osaka and change to a JR conventional train for Kyoto; the Kyoto–Shin-Osaka Shinkansen is outside this pass. Reach Gion by taxi or local transport, collect your forwarded suitcase if arranged, then take an evening walk along the Kamo River.

Begin early in Higashiyama, linking Kiyomizu-dera with the traditional lanes below it. Take breaks and keep the route short if the slopes are tiring.

Continue towards Yasaka Shrine and Gion, with time for tea or a small exhibition. Be considerate in residential lanes: follow photography notices, keep entrances clear and never pursue geiko or maiko for pictures. Dinner can be near your hotel, followed by a quiet riverside walk.

Take an early train to Fushimi Inari and walk only as far uphill as you comfortably wish, then return for a market lunch and a slow afternoon. Alternatively choose Uji for tea and riverside time, or stay in Kyoto for gardens and shops.

Keep one substantial outing rather than combining all three. This extra Kyoto night is part of the longer route's appeal: there is room to follow an interest or change plans with the weather.

Travel from Kyoto to Shin-Kobe by a separately purchased Shinkansen ticket, or use JR conventional trains to Sannomiya if you prefer to spend less. Continue by Kobe Subway to Tanigami, Shintetsu towards Arimaguchi and the short branch to Arima Onsen.

Contact Gekkoen Korokan for its station pickup. Arrive in time to settle in and enjoy the baths rather than booking a late connection. If you chose a dinner plan, respect its arrival deadline.

Give Arima a full day. Walk the old town, try its small shops and cafés, and enjoy a second round of bathing without looking at a train departure board. A mountain or ropeway outing can be an optional fair-weather addition, but the pleasure of this day is being able to stay put. Choose a kaiseki dinner plan if you want the ryokan meal to be part of the finale, or reserve a town restaurant if staying room-only.

Return via Arimaguchi and Tanigami to Sannomiya, then use the airport limousine bus to Kansai International Airport. The direct Sannomiya–Terminal 1 bus is typically about 65 minutes, but road conditions and some services via Rokko Island require extra time.

Allow roughly 3–4 hours from hotel to terminal, then add your airline's check-in margin. For an early departure, add a final Rinku or airport hotel night rather than trying to travel from Arima before dawn. Confirm the terminal when planning the bus.