Takeo-Onsen Station

Elevators and waiting rooms are conveniently located here. You don't need to transfer to get on the Shinkansen vs. local lines so that's convenient too. The station is kept pretty clean and the staff here can be readily reached with the push of a button.

Steam drifts above tiled roofs, rising toward pine-clad hills. Takeo glows with onsen warmth and the scent of hinoki wood. The Shinkansen glides in like a visiting spirit — sleek, silver, reverent. Old bathhouses whisper stories of travelers who once walked here, following the same mountains toward the sea. Tourist Tip: Starting point of the Nishi Kyūshū Line; transfer from conventional Kyūshū Shinkansen at Hakata via relay train. Visit Takeo Shrine’s sacred camphor tree and the historic Takeo Onsen Tower Gate. Many ryokan offer day-use baths.

Our trip to Minefuyama garden for the blooming azalea was a bust due to early spring bloom this year, but the journey to Takeo-Onsen was easy from Fukuoka. The train station is small but has nice & modern decor souvenirs and coffee shops. Lots of beautifully designed products for sale.

The journey from Hakata Station on the Relay Kamome Limited Express takes about 1 hour. Cross the platform from Track 10 to Track 11 for the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen Kamome. The trip to Nagasaki takes another half hour. The sleek Kamome Shinkansen has only 6 cars. Cars 4-6 are for non-reserved seating, which comes in rows of 3-2 seats. There is free wi-fi, power outlets for mobile phones/laptops and luggage racks.

There is an older traditional train side platform 1 and 2, with a convenience store, coin locker and information centre (which has luggage storage service, bike for rent and a bento shop), and the new Shinkansen side platform 10-12 with the Tabi Bookstore (which is also a cafe). But even if you ride traditional trains, some trains (afaik some Limited Express bound for Sasebo/Hakata/Mojiko) open doors to the Shinkansen side platform 10 so people can transfer to Shinkansens for Nagasaki at platform 11. Remember to check beforehand. As long as they have the name Relay Kamome, they open to the Shinkansen side. There are no automatic gates on the traditional train side, and sometimes no staff checks tickets. It feels awkward walking through without a ticket check. The toilets in the shinkansen side was spotless but have no soap, for some reason JR Kyushu hate soap in toilets?

I was on a limited express train, and when I tried to exit the station, I had both a regular ticket and a limited express ticket. I inserted both tickets into the ticket gate at the same time, but the gate did not open. The station staff looked at me and spoke to me in Japanese, which I could not understand at all. To my surprise, he kept speaking Japanese and then became agitated and scolded me because I didn’t know what to do (since I couldn’t understand what he was saying). It was a very unpleasant experience.

I think it’s also a nice station although I ever only got off once and at night. The last trip to Saga is on platform one. It’s at 10:17 pm on the local line. If you want the limited express one, the last trip is at 9:27 (if I remember right). Takeo-onsen station is the stop you need both for Takeo Onsen as well as the Takeo City Library.

Took the new Shinkansen from here, after staying in the town. Nice station, good tourism for the town having the Shinkansen. There is a Family Mart just up the road.

A JR (Japanese Railway) station of Takeo city, Saga. Takeo is known for its Onsen. The station was cleaner than i thought. (Probably went through a renovation. ) One thing surprised me here was not having a ticket gate. There is a nice lobby to chill or wait for someone in the station. A cool fact of Takeo city : In 2011, the city government was the first in Japan to switch to using Facebook for its website ! Isn't it cool ?