Kyushu road-trippers start about 5–10 minutes from FUK
Times Car Rental runs a free shuttle from Fukuoka Airport (Domestic and International), with the ride itself taking around 5–10 minutes and the full airport-to-counter process often landing closer to 20–30 minutes. The shuttle is bundled with your rental, so you pay 0 JPY for the transfer and only for the car contract you booked.
Times’ Fukuoka Airport locations sit off-airport, so you don’t walk to a desk by the baggage belt. Instead, you follow signs for rental car shuttles outside arrivals and head to the specific Times meeting point listed in your confirmation email. Reddit users report the shuttle usually shows within about 10–20 minutes when flights arrive, but there’s no fixed timetable published anywhere.
From the meeting point, staff load luggage and seat you for the short 5-minute drive to the Times office, which is shared with other customers from the same wave of arrivals. One r/JapanTravel commenter describes the ride as “quick,” but regulars still budget a 30-minute buffer between landing and actually holding keys, especially if you’re catching a late-afternoon expressway segment toward Aso or Kurokawa Onsen.
At the Times counter, renters mention that staff often help in basic English, especially to set the in-car GPS using your first night’s hotel phone number. That trick matters if you’re heading to smaller Kyushu towns or remote coastal spots that don’t match English spelling. Several trip reports say the actual contract and car check-out can slow down on Saturday mornings when a full shuttle empties into a small office.
Common complaints online: slow processing at peak times and mixing up the Times bus with other rental operators’ shuttles. Multiple reviews say to double-check the Times logo before boarding, since several companies line up beside each other outside Domestic and International arrivals, all using white minibuses or small coaches.
Regulars handle this shuttle like a mini-connection: they pre-enter their first hotel phone number into a note, read up on Japan’s ETC toll system before flying, and then skip the long explanations at the counter. One practical tip: if you’re landing in Fukuoka after 16:00 and driving deep into Kyushu, add a 30-minute buffer on top of the stated 5–10 minute shuttle time so you’re not hitting mountain roads in the dark.