Kumamoto熊本県

Places to seeWhere to go in Kumamoto

Start with the first of these. Each is worth half a day.

Mt. Aso阿蘇山

A crater you can stand at the edge of, grassland where horses graze, and a road across the caldera floor.

Half a day

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Kumamoto Castle熊本城

The repair work is visible as you walk round, and the curved stone walls are enormous.

2 hours

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Kurokawa Onsen黒川温泉

Wooden inns along a river in the mountains. One pass, three outdoor baths of your choice.

Stay a nightWinterYou can get in

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Kusasenri草千里

The grassland below the crater, with a shallow pond and horses grazing in the warm months.

1 hour

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What Kumamoto is

The middle of the prefecture is Mt. Aso — one of the largest volcanic calderas in the world, so wide that towns, farms, railways and roads all sit inside it. You drive into Aso rather than looking at it from a distance.

West of the volcano is Kumamoto city, built around a castle with repair work you can still see as you walk round it. North of the volcano, in a narrow river valley, is Kurokawa Onsen, a village of wooden inns where one wooden pass lets you use three different outdoor baths, not only your own. To the west, the Amakusa islands scatter into the sea, with wild dolphins in the water between them.

When to comeThe same place, four different places

Pick the season first and the days will arrange themselves.

March – May

Cherry blossom at the castle in early April. The grassland on Aso is burned in March and comes back bright green by May — the best month for the caldera.

June – August

The caldera rim is cool, and horses graze there.

September – November

The clearest air of the year, and the best chance of standing above a sea of cloud at Daikanbo. If you can choose, come now.

December – February

Snow at the hot springs, which is what most people want from an onsen. Some mountain roads close

Find it fastEverything in Kumamoto