Things to do in Kumamoto Prefecture

We were hosted by tour guide Eiichi (conversant with English, mandarin and of cos Japanese). He was very friendly and started off the tour by introducing about some Japanese history and culture and also gave us some background about the places we were going to visit. He also gave some personal food recommendations at some of the stopover points. Despite not being able to visit the Mt Aso crater (due to local govt restrictions) the shrine visit was made in place of that. Overall a great tour experience coupled with Eiichi's knowledge as a guide and also kudos to the driver Shimizu who drove us safely and timely to all the places of attraction. Definitely a value for money package! Look no further. Note : Visited on 17 Oct 2026. weather on the warmer side but beautiful nonetheless

Really enjoyed this day trip to Takachiho Gorge and Mount Aso! 😊 Our tour guide, Li Hong, was wonderful! She was cheerful, friendly and shared lots of interesting stories throughout the journey, making the long drives enjoyable. She also took very good care of everyone and made sure we were comfortable throughout the trip. Highly recommend this tour as getting around these attractions on your own can be quite troublesome, as they involve a lot of driving mountainous and windy roads. Having everything arranged made the experience so much more relaxing. We also ended our trip with a delicious Akaushi beef meal at Kusasenri, which was a lovely bonus! 🥩 Overall, a very enjoyable and well-organised experience. Would definitely recommend!

A wonderful day trip! Mount Aso is overwhelmingly beautiful—truly fitting as Misae Nohara's hometown. Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine is extremely photogenic. Having visited many hot spring towns, Kurokawa Onsen also has its own unique charm. By the river, there are 200-yen self-service open-air baths for men and women, where you can enjoy river views and the gentle sound of flowing water. Special shout-out to our tour guide, Mr. Sun Peng, who was incredibly entertaining and kept us laughing the whole way. Also, kudos to every member of the group for being well-mannered and punctual—we were the first to depart and the first to arrive at every attraction, making for a truly fantastic experience. Finally, wishing Mr. Sun good luck in guiding Stefanie Sun someday, hahaha! Ramble: The Adult Pudding in South Aso is seriously amazing! Now I finally know why it's called Adult Pudding—it's made with rum, giving it a very unique and wonderfully surprising texture.

one of the best tours I have ever been to! the tour goes to all of the must see spots in Miyazaki! the Gorge was absolutely beautiful! i also really loved the Aso Grass land. it was very foggy which created a ghibli vibe right out of the Howls Moving Castle movie. our guide was absolutely amazing! she pointed us to all of the best spots and photo opportunities. the tour ended with the opportunity to try horse meat at an absolutely delicious shop- and local secret.

I did the tour to see Takachiho Gorge and Aso Kusasenri, and I had a fantastic time. The tour was incredibly well-organized. Our guide, Sun, was knowledgeable and professional; he gave us great context about the area and guided us exceptionally well throughout the day. The gorge was beautiful, and the boat experience was so much fun. I also added the lunch package at the last minute and was really glad I did, because the food was delicious. We even got to see horses at Kusasenri, which was very cool. Overall, I highly recommend this tour!

The guide could only speak Japanese and English, but we were able to talk to be each other via translation apps. He also had updates and messages for the English speakers ready in every stop (for timeline, return times per location, and info). we rode a bus, and it was comfy. each location was really nice! although we couldn't really stay too long, which is too bad, but understandable since it's so far away. I was still so happy to be able to visit all these places, and I knew being able to go here on my own (without the tour) would've been very diffifuclt if 8 didn't have a car). All of the places we went to were great, and also wanted to note we had bathroom breaks both going to and from the locations.

We spotted tour guide Nana's flag first thing in the morning. She was sweet and extremely dedicated, and she didn't waste any time talking when it was time for us to rest and catch up on sleep! Her Mandarin and English were both fluent, so there were zero communication barriers. Since I easily get motion sick, I had added a note requesting a front-seat before joining the tour, and they saved a seat for me. The scenery along the entire way was truly gorgeous, and everywhere we went had a wonderful, comfortable energy. Because we joined the Takachiho Gorge boating activity, our schedule required precise timing. As soon as we arrived at Takachiho Gorge, Nana gave instructions on the meeting time and place for those not boating, and then rushed forward with the nine of us who were participating in the boating activity! It turns out that boating time is limited, and failing to return within the designated time results in extra fees charged by the boat rental shop! The boats are not the easiest to steer, but it is a lot of fun. I highly recommend trying it out if you aren't traveling with very young children or elderly family members—since you're already there, you might as well! I highly recommend this tour and am very grateful to our guide, Nana, for giving us such a wonderful day! By the way, the mango shaved ice has very poor value for the money, so skip it! The soft-serve ice cream should be worth a try, though!

This experience was wonderful, we were able to catch dolphins diving and the captain of the boat would drive around until we’d find dolphins. Great for wildlife photography and a new experience!

I visited Kumamoto Castle for the second time! As expected of one of Japan's three most famous castles, it was large and magnificent! A few years ago, a major earthquake in Kumamoto destroyed parts of the castle, and restoration work is still ongoing, but from a tourist's perspective, there were no issues touring Kumamoto Castle! I highly recommend purchasing your admission tickets in advance through Klook! This is because at the entrance, there are separate lines for buying tickets and for those who pre-purchased tickets. If you show the staff your QR code, you can enter immediately, which significantly reduces your waiting time, making it a huge advantage!