Kumamoto Prefecture

This is our first time to explore Fukuoka and we have an amazing experience visiting Mount Aso, Kusasenri and the gorgeous Takachiho Gorge. We also like to thank our very experienced tour guide , Ada Wong for being so helpful and professional throughout the whole day tour. Will definitely check out Klook tour offers in our next family vacation trip. Cheers again Klook!!

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!

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!

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.)

Dokonalý prírodný výlet po Kjúšú, vďaka sprievodkyni Nanami! Práve som dokončil cestu po Kumamoto a Mijazaki a už sa neviem dočkať, kedy napíšem túto skvelú recenziu. Trasa tohto zájazdu bola navrhnutá vynikajúco, dokonale spájala prírodné divy s kultúrnymi zážitkami. V Aso sme videli jeden z najväčších aktívnych kráterov na svete, ten pocit pulzujúcej Zeme bol nezabudnuteľný; prechádzali sme sa po rozsiahlych trávnatých pláňach Kusasenri a zažili úplne iný pocit priestrannosti a pokoja; plavba loďou v rokline Takachiho bola vrcholom celej cesty, akoby sme vstúpili do mytologického sveta. A „dušou“ všetkých týchto nádherných zážitkov nebol nikto iný ako naša sprievodkyňa, sestra Nanami. Je to veľmi profesionálna a nadšená osoba: 1. Vedomostne bohatá: Má rozsiahle znalosti o histórii a kultúre Kjúšú, geologických formáciách a miestnych špecialitách, jej výklad bol živý a zaujímavý, vďaka čomu sme nielen videli scenériu, ale aj pochopili príbehy za ňou. 2. Dvojjazyčná komunikácia: V skupine bolo veľa zahraničných priateľov a ona im počas celej cesty slúžila plynulou čínštinou a angličtinou, starala sa o každého člena, komunikácia bola úplne bezbariérová, veľmi ohľaduplná. 3. Nadšená a pozorná: Vždy sa usmievala, starostlivo sa starala o starších ľudí a deti v skupine, pomáhala všetkým riešiť rôzne problémy, rovnako ako spoľahlivá sestra. Vďaka sestre Nanami bola táto cesta plná tepla a spomienok. Vrelo odporúčam priateľom, ktorí plánujú cestu na Kjúšú! Teším sa na ďalšie stretnutie na budúcej ceste.

Absolvoval som prehliadku rokliny Takachiho a Aso Kusasenri a strávil som fantastický čas. Prehliadka bola neuveriteľne dobre zorganizovaná. Náš sprievodca, Sun, bol informovaný a profesionálny; poskytol nám skvelý kontext o oblasti a výborne nás sprevádzal počas celého dňa. Roklina bola krásna a zážitok z plavby loďou bol veľmi zábavný. Na poslednú chvíľu som si tiež pridal obedový balíček a bol som naozaj rád, že som to urobil, pretože jedlo bolo vynikajúce. Dokonca sme videli kone v Kusasenri, čo bolo veľmi super. Celkovo túto prehliadku vrelo odporúčam!

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!

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.

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.