Hasetsu/Karatsu: A Guide for YoI Pilgrim and Beyond

Hasetsu/Karatsu: A Guide for YoI Pilgrim and BeyondMiloStudioFollow6 min read·Jul 22, 2019 --

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I know this guide came out way too late but since the new movie will (hopefully) release this year (2019) and I already visited Karatsu twice, I think it is a perfect time for me to finally

post this.

I will split the guide to multiple posts. Here’s the links to each of them.

Table of Content

- Getting there (this post)

- YURI!!! on Ice’s Main Attractions (coming soon)

- YURI!!! on Ice’s Minor Attractions (coming soon)

- Other Interesting Places to visit in Karatsu (coming soon)

- Food to Try and Things to Buy (coming soon)

- Seasons, Weather, and Festivals (coming soon)

- My recommended place to stay (coming soon)

- Bonus: Anime shops in Fukuoka (coming soon)

Disclaimer: I am not an expert in Karatsu and I can’t speak Japanese. These information are either from my experiences, researches, or the locals told me in English. If there’s anything

you’d like to add or share, please feel free to reach out to me via Twitter @milostudio

Getting there If you travel by public transportation, changes are, you fly to Fukuoka Airport, you ride Shinkansen to Hakata Station in Fukuoka, or you take train to main city of Saga.

Anyhow, getting to Karatsu from there is simple.

From Fukuoka International Terminal to Karatsu

First of all, I strongly advise you to go through Immigration as quick as possible because the queue there can be very long. Once you’re done, come down one floor to claim your bag then go

through customs.

Hand the yellow customs card to one of the officers at the customs counters (on the left of this photo) and you are free to go.

Unfortunately, there are no glass wall at the exit like in the anime.

You can buy tourist SIM card from vending machines here. And if you are hungry, there’s a Yoshinoya shop (selling beef rice bowl) and a Seven Eleven on this floor.

There are also counters for other services such as tourist information, car rental, money exchange, express buses etc. Some websites said that you can also take highway bus from here to

Houtousanbashi stop in Karatsu as well but I can’t confirm that. Please check Showa-Bus for further details.

Now, walk out the door and look to the left, you will see airport free shuttle bus to Domestic Terminal which has a train station.

This bus takes about 10 minutes from one terminal to another. It will park close to the train station entrance. You just have to walk forward a little further.

At the station, you can either use a JR Pass card or buy a paper ticket from the ticket machine. If you travel mainly just in Karatsu, you won’t need JR Pass as much since some Saga local

trains only accept paper ticket (I kid you not.) Here’s how to use the machine:

Pick “English” on the upper right corner.Choose number of tickets you’d like to buy on the far left. Fees on screen will changed to match the number of tickets.Pick “Chikuhi Line” on the

left. It will show list of stations for you to pick. Karatsu should be one station before the end of this line. (On July 2019, it cost 1,170 each)Now pick “Karatsu”.Insert money.Take the

ticket(s) and changes. Normally, train for Chikuhi Line will board at Platform 2. You either get the train that run from Fukuoka Airport to Nishi-Karatsu or to Mienohoma. If your train said

it runs to Nishi-Karatsu, it means you don’t have to switch train at all. It may make a long stop at one or two stations but it will definitely heading to Karatsu. If your train said that

end of its line is Mienohoma, that means you’ll have to get off once it reached Mienohoma and switch to another train that said Nishi-Karatsu. (No need to buy another ticket.) Both routes

cost the same.

You can check train schedule and estimate your time at HyperDia.com

This train headed to Nishi-Karatsu so it made a long stop at Mienohoma but we don’t have to get off.

This was from the time when we need to make a switch at Mienohoma. We were waiting at platform 4 and the sign is saying that train heading to Nishi-Karatsu is arriving at 14:11. The sign

will also change to English so no need to worry if you can’t remember the kanji.

Suggest that you should sit on the left side so that you can look out the right window toward the sea. The view is spectacular.

For this route, there are two train models: a very modern one with QR code floor tiles, and the one that has a slightly retro look. The modern one is featured in YoI ED.

From Hakata Station to Karatsu

If you’re going to take local train, the method is pretty much the same as from Fukuoka Airport. You can also take express train to Saga and ride a local train from Saga to Karatsu but it’ll

cost a lot more.

I found some information saying that you can take Shuttle bus from Hakata Bus Terminal to Karatsu and it’d cost similar price as local train (1,050 yen or so) and the ride takes about 90

minutes (trains takes about 100 minutes). All you have to do is go to Hakata Bus Terminal > 3rd Floor > Platform 32 > Buy ticket at gate. The provider is also Showa-Bus.

From Saga Station to Karatsu

You can take local train (JR Karatsu Line) to Karatsu. Depends on the train you take, you may have to switch at Kubota. On July 2019, it cost 1,110 yen.

Important note: From my experience, train between Saga and Karatsu comes once every hour so be sure to check Hyperdia and try not to miss your train!

I can’t find any information about shuttle bus to Karatsu but you can check Showa-Bus for further information if you could read Japanese. Just so you know that there are no tourist

information counter at Saga Station but there is one at Karatsu Station. It is better for you to be well prepared if you’re going to travel to Karatsu via this route.

Reference Sites

http://www.hyperdia.com/

http://showa-bus.jp/

https://www.karatsu-kankou.jp/

http://saga-travelsupport.com/en/ (You can download Saga travel app from this site)

https://www.saga-tripgenius.com/

And that’s the end of this post. The next one is >> YURI!!! on Ice’s Main Attractions << which I will upload soon. ;)