Kumamoto Departure: Takachiho Gorge & Aso Sky Train & Kusasenri Prairie One-Day Tour

One of the best decisions we made for our Fukuoka trip! Jiang Cui was such a wonderful tour guide and truly made our experience pleasant and memorable. Although the tour is mainly designed for Chinese tourists, she made a genuine effort to communicate with foreign guests, which we really appreciated. Her hospitality and kindness meant so much to us ♡ The places we visited were all beautiful as well. Thank you for such a lovely experience!

Tour guide Jiang Cui was incredibly professional and friendly! From the start, she clearly explained the day's itinerary in the car, introducing the history and features of each attraction, as well as recommending local snacks and important considerations, which made everyone feel very at ease. Throughout the trip, she consistently reminded us of meeting times, and the itinerary was smooth and unhurried. She even proactively helped take photos and meticulously looked after every traveler, providing very thoughtful service. Although it was a bit disappointing that we couldn't enter Mount Aso due to weather or restrictions, the overall trip was still enriching and enjoyable, making for a wonderful day tour experience. I highly recommend this tour and am very grateful for Tour Guide Jiang Cui's dedicated leadership. ♡ I will definitely join again if I have the chance and will recommend it to friends!

This was my first time booking a one-day tour in Japan, heading to the suburban areas of Mount Aso and Takachiho. Having a bus and a guide allowed for a different kind of experience, and we didn't have to worry about transportation. Our guide, Ms. Sugiyama, was very enthusiastic and even recommended highly-rated local foods and souvenirs along the way, helping us avoid tourist traps. The Takachiho Gorge train ride was also very memorable; the bubbles floating through the canyon were beautiful, and the station staff collectively waved goodbye to the train as we departed, which was a heartwarming touch. The scenery at Takachiho Gorge was spectacular and breathtaking. The only downside was that Mount Aso was still closed and inaccessible, but the views, delicious food, and Ms. Sugiyama's engaging commentary still made this trip a beautiful memory.

This was my first time taking a day tour in Japan; before, I always traveled independently. However, Takachiho and Mount Aso are really far and inconvenient to get to, so taking a day tour was absolutely worth it! Our guide, Ningning, was fantastic. She shared a lot about local customs and culture along the way, and her Japanese voice was very pleasant (we had a Japanese person in our group 😂). She was cheerful and very thoughtful, always offering to take photos for everyone at each stop. Having her look after us made us feel very at ease. The next day, we even ran into Ningning on her day off in Kumamoto city, and she still remembered our family, which was incredibly sweet 🥺. I heard the driver, who is learning Chinese, was also shy and cute, and his safe driving kept us secure throughout the trip 🫡. We came to Aso in March, right after a controlled burn, so the mountains were yellow and black, which was quite unique. If you want to see lush green, I recommend coming in the summer! Unfortunately, Mount Aso was still closed due to a helicopter accident, so we could only view it from a distance. Inside the Takachiho train station and the Takachiho shop, they sell local handmade cheese sandwich cookies (or steamed buns?). They were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, truly delicious, but they lost their initial amazing texture after being brought back to the hotel because the outer layer softened. I brought them back to Taiwan and revived them in an air fryer, which also worked well (it's a shame they have a short shelf life). There's a delicious grilled horse meat stall in the Takachiho parking lot; if you want to try horse meat, this is a great place to start (the owner uses sashimi-grade meat). The Kusasenri souvenir shop sells tomato cola, which is a must-try for those who like unique things. This day tour experience was truly wonderful, and I will definitely participate again in the future! Thank you, Guide Ningning, and thank you, Driver! 😍

It was so rare that it started snowing right as we departed from Kumamoto ❄️. The beautiful Takachiho Gorge was a different kind of beautiful, even though the trees were more barren in winter. Along the way, sometimes there was sunshine, sometimes there was heavy snow; it was truly a super special and unexpected treat. Although we couldn't go to the planned Mount Aso due to the heavy snow, the tour guide skillfully arranged other great locations so we could see the beautiful scenery of South Aso! Many thanks to our guide, Jiang Cui, for her kind guidance and introduction, her enthusiastic help with taking photos, her detailed answers to our questions, and her warm greetings and farewells. She really added a lot of warmth to this trip. The Japanese driver always greeted us when we got on and off the bus and was very polite. It was truly an unforgettable memory in the snow that left a deep impression!

This is our first time participating in a day trip in Japan! We toured Miyazaki Takachiho Gorge, strolled through the forest, and appreciated the marvelous craftsmanship of the volcanic canyon! Then we paid extra to ride the forest train, enjoying the beautiful countryside scenery along the way, including railways, tunnels, canyon iron bridges, and the conductor's lovely bubbles, which were so romantic! After that, we went to Kusasenri, where we encountered an endless grassland with residual snow, strolled, played in the snow, and enjoyed the most distinctive local horse meat and Akaushi beef dishes. Finally, we wanted to get a glimpse of the spectacular scenery of Mount Aso's crater, but it was closed due to an accident! A bit of a shame! Along the way, we had the enthusiastic tour guide Jiang Cui, who gave detailed explanations and took great care of us. She also helped us take many beautiful photos, filling our Kumamoto trip with happy memories!

This was a wonderful day trip and we enjoyed it immensely. Our guide San San was great—funny, personable, and helpful. Mt. Aso and the gorge were amazing, the open-air train ride was great fun with amazing views, and overall, it was a fantastic day. One word of advice: prepare for all seasons on this trip! The gorge can be quite warm on a sunny day, especially on the hike back up. Likewise, the volcano is windy and freezing cold at the top—take a warm jacket! I would also suggest taking a face mask up there as there is some sulphur gas you will smell. This is not an area you could easily visit on your own; it would be difficult to arrange even with a car. The tour guide took care of everything, showing us where to go while allowing enough time to enjoy each area. We would highly recommend this tour. it’s an awesome place!

The itinerary was jam packed and well worth it. This is a hassle free option if you want to visit Takachiho Gorge and Mt. Aso without having to think of all the commute involved. Our tour guide was really helpful and thoughtful. We were a group of English speaking joiners but our Chinese/Japanese speaking tour guide made sure we understood the instructions for the group. I would recommend this tour.

Our tour guide, Midori, was truly dedicated, very friendly, and had a great attitude. The entire itinerary was explained in great detail. I originally thought all tour guides would be serious like the one I encountered during a KKlook tour in Fukuoka, but I was very lucky to be with Midori this time. Not only did we successfully see the crater, but we also saw the lake view. Mount Takachiho was beautiful, and riding the little train with the bubbles was so much fun! When it snows in February, I will visit Mount Aso again to see a completely different snowy landscape.

The itinerary was well-planned, and the tour guide was very helpful and enthusiastic. Takachiho Gorge and Mount Aso are definitely worth seeing, the scenery is excellent, and we started enjoying it on the bus. The tour guide told us that a puddle in Kusasenri was a 30,000-year-old crater, and where Matcha Pudding Mountain is, small details like that were quite interesting. The ice cream and coffee at Kusasenri were delicious, highly recommended, but the line was very long. Although the bus broke down at the start, causing the trip to be delayed by an hour, the tour guide arranged a large bus, gave gifts, and arranged a shuttle bus at the crater to compensate everyone. Overall, I am very satisfied with this trip!