Aso County Turer

An unforgettable experience exploring some of Kyushu’s most beautiful natural attractions! Mt. Aso was breathtaking, and the vast Kusasenri grasslands offered spectacular scenery. Takachiho Gorge was another highlight, with its dramatic cliffs, beautiful river, and stunning waterfalls. Every destination was worth the journey! Our tour guide, Daisy, was fantastic! She gave informative explanations about the places we visited and was very lively, cheerful, and entertaining. Her enthusiasm and friendly personality made the long journey enjoyable. She certainly added something special to the whole experience. she even gave us hot spring powder as a token after the tour. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to discover the natural beauty of Kyushu. A memorable tour from beginning to end!

Tour guide Ms. Kong was humorous, engaging, and very knowledgeable about local customs and traditions. The driver was extremely polite and friendly, and greeted every passenger each time we got off the bus! Everything has returned to normal following the Kumamoto earthquakes! Sightseeing and tourism are completely fine, there aren't many tourists, and the attractions are very pleasant to walk around. Joining a day tour when traveling independently allows you to visit many places that are inconvenient to reach by public transportation! The itinerary was Aso Kusasenri -> Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine -> Takachiho Torokko Train -> Takachiho Gorge stroll. The Takachiho Torokko Train requires an additional payment of 2,300 yen per person! The weather was still quite hot in late October, so everything was lush and green, but the local scenery was great to see! Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine was my absolute favorite—it has such an amazing atmosphere!

It was a wonderful schedule, but the weather~ ㅠㅠ It rained a lot. Still, it was okay to enjoy the scenery. It's a shame that the fog was so dense we couldn't see the grasslands of Kusasenri or the smoke from the Aso crater at all. The stairway leading up to Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine had a mystical atmosphere, and the scenery seen from the Amaterasu mini-train while wearing raincoats in the rain was nice, but... considering the high price, it was just so-so~~ Finally, Takachiho Gorge was truly wonderful. The scenery is breathtaking enough to make you exclaim. The forest path beside the gorge was great, and the espresso coffee at the cafe at the end of the path was also lovely. Our lovely Chinese guide explained things very diligently.. but since I couldn't understand Chinese, I managed to get the gist of it through Google simultaneous interpretation. She told us the meeting places and times in English and Chinese. It would have been nice if she spoke a little Korean, too. Still, thank you for guiding us so diligently~ I highly recommend the tour. (It would be even better to skip the train and give us more time at the shrine.)

We arrived early at the Kumamoto Station Shinkansen West Exit to meet up. Our tour guide, Sun Peng, came over to gather the group. Since we were carrying luggage and planning to leave the tour in Kurokawa, the guide proactively asked if we had already arranged our hotel pick-up and drop-off. Although we could have arranged it ourselves, he went ahead and did it for us. Since Kurokawa has multiple parking lots, as a tourist, it would have been difficult to clearly communicate the exact pick-up spot with the hotel. Thumbs up for the guide's thoughtfulness! It was a gorgeous sunny day, and every scenic spot made for great photos. As a tourist, the experience was fantastic. Guide Sun also helped take photos for everyone, kept the commentary along the way witty and humorous, took meticulous care of us, and reminded us in advance of important points to keep in mind during the sightseeing. This trip is a great one-day tour option, much more convenient than planning and executing it yourself, and I highly recommend it!

Så tidlig om morgenen fikk vi øye på reiseleder Nanami (Nana) sitt flagg. Hun var omtenksom og gjorde en kjempeinnsats, og da vi trengte å hvile og ta en blund, snakket hun ikke unødvendig! Hun flytende i både kinesisk og engelsk, så det var overhodet ingen kommunikasjonsproblemer. Siden jeg har lett for å bli bilsyk, hadde jeg på forhånd lagt inn en merknad om å få sitte foran, og de hadde holdt av en plass til meg. Landskapet underveis var virkelig vakkert, og atmosfæren på stedene vi besøkte var fantastisk og behagelig. Fordi vi deltok på roaktiviteten i Takachiho-gjevet, måtte tiden passes ekstra godt på. Med en gang vi kom til Takachiho-gjevet, ga Nana beskjed til de som ikke skulle være med om tid og sted for samling, og tok oss som var 9 personer som skulle ro, med på full fart fremover! Det viste seg nemlig at tiden til roingen var begrenset, og kom man ikke tilbake innen fastsatt tid, ble man belastet ekstra av utleieren! Båtene var ikke så enkle å manøvrere, men det var veldig gøy. Jeg vil anbefale alle som ikke har små barn eller eldre familiemedlemmer med seg, til å prøve det – når man først er der!! Kan varmt anbefale denne turen, og stor takk til reiseleder Nana som sørget for at vi fikk en hyggelig dag! Bråkmangoisen hadde for øvrig veldig dårlig forhold mellom pris og ytelse, ikke spis den! Softisen er nok grei å prøve, da!

Det var en behagelig tur med bussen. Guiden tok godt vare på oss og ga gode anbefalinger, og vi fikk sett mye på bare én dag. Dette passer for dem som ikke ønsker å leie bil. Vi hadde to timer ved Takachiho-glavjulet, inkludert gangtid tur-retur, noe som var mer enn nok. På ettermtiden dro vi for å se Aso-fjellet. Krateret var stengt, men vi fikk se det på nært hold fra to steder. Kusasenri har vakker utsikt, men én time var kanskje litt knapt for å nyte utsikten, spise lunsj og kjøpe suvenirer. Alt i alt var det en svært god opplevelse med et variert program og god komfort, inkludert et stopp på et rasteplass underveis.

Guiden kunne bare snakke japansk og engelsk, men vi klarte å snakke sammen ved hjelp av oversettelsesapper. Han hadde også oppdateringer og beskjeder klare for de engelsktalende ved hvert stopp (om tidsplan, returtider for hvert sted og informasjon). Vi kjørte buss, og den var komfortabel. Hvert sted var virkelig fint! Selv om vi ikke kunne bli så lenge, noe som er synd, men forståelig siden det er så langt unna. Jeg var likevel så glad for å kunne besøke alle disse stedene, og jeg vet at det å reise hit på egen hånd (uten omvisningen) ville ha vært veldig vanskelig hvis jeg ikke hadde bil. Alle stedene vi dro til var flotte, og jeg vil også nevne at vi hadde toalettpauser både på vei til og fra stedene.

It was a truly impressive trip. I was the only English speaker, but the guide. Zhu Zhu, took good care of me, ensuring I fully understood everything about the tour. The experience far exceeded my expectations.

The package was well-organized and great. The guide gave briefings in Chinese with brief explanations in English, so it wasn't hard to understand. I was so grateful that they took pictures for us along the way and took good care of us. In Japan, you wouldn't even cover transportation costs for this price. It is an amazing value for the money. We also tried milk ice cream, plain milk, yogurt, horse meat bowl, and Akaushi beef. Kurokawa Onsen is wonderful. Next time, I'd like to stay at a ryokan. Thank you, Mr. DELONG. I hope to see you again next time.