RugbyPass World Cup City guide to Kumamoto
Kumamoto is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. Famous in Japan for it’s iconic ‘Kumamon’ character, a black bear with red cheeks, Kumamoto has many surprises for tourists ranging historical landmarks to beautiful landscapes where a world of adventure awaits.
Mt Aso
A place where the contrast of nature is fierce with amazing views from mountain tops and rugged land on this geothermal site. Get the adrenaline pumping with mountain biking, parachuting or horse riding on the grasslands or just enjoy the scenery with a gentle hike where cattle graze in front of the Mt. Nakadake volcano.
Kusasenri Aso
Yamabiko-go(Highway bus)
- About 2 hours from Kumamoto Station to the Aso area.
– Visiting one of the world’s largest craters in Mt. Aso and a great viewpoint of Kusasenri.
Dolphin watching (Amakusa)
About one hour from Kumamoto city. you can meet dolphins with a high probability of 98%. A boat trip that women and children can enjoy with peace of mind. You can see wild dolphins as you explore the islands of Amakusa, and swim with the cruiser to make them look lovely.
Dolphin watching Amakusa
Amakusa-go(Highway bus)
-Around 1.5 hours from Kumamoto Station to Amakusa.
- Amakusa dolphin watching and Bijin no yu – the hot spring for beauty click here.
- Amakusa dolphin watching and L’isola Terrace Amakusa click here.
Nabegataki (Waterfall)
Located in Oguni Town, Aso District on the border between Kumamoto and Oita Prefectures is the fabulous Nabegataki falls, a 10-metre high and 20-metre wide waterfall.
A short walk through the forest down a guided pathway will take you to the falls from the car park. The beautiful waterfall has many angles to admire from, including from behind the fall inside the cave.
The only way to get to Nabegataki is by car or taxi.
Nabegataki
- About 1-hour and 40 minutes by car from Kumamoto city
Hours: 9:00-17:00 (last entry at 16:30)
Kumamoto Castle
The city’s most famous landmark is Kumamoto Castle, a large and, in its day, extremely well fortified Japanese castle. It is considered one of the three premier castles in Japan, dating back to 1607 and was in use until 1874. Restoration on the castle is expected to be complete by 2019 after suffering Earthquake damage. Explore the vast grounds around the castle separated by moat.
Kumamoto castle
- 50 minutes by shuttle bus from Kumamoto Airport
Kato Shrine
The Kato Shrine, sitting in the grounds outside the Kumamoto Castle, is where Kato Kiyomasa, a powerful lord of Kumamoto in the late-16th and early 17th centuries, is enshrined. The Shrine is one of the best places to view the main tower of the Castle.
Kato shrine
- 50 minutes by shuttle bus from Kumamoto Airport
Sakuranobaba Johsaien Kumamoto
Sakuranobaba Johsaien is a Japanese tourism facility located next to Kumamoto Castle comprising of a mix of shops, restaurants and tourist exhibits. Grab a bite to eat on the way to the Kumamoto Castle or enjoy one of the regular Samurai shows in the square.
Josaien
- 50 minutes by shuttle bus from Kumamoto Airport
Suizenji Jojuen Garden
Suizenji Garden is a spacious, Japanese style landscape garden in Kumamoto, best enjoyed by strolling along a circular path surrounded by a peaceful pond. The pond was said to be great for producing green tea, so a purpose-built teahouse was built overlooking the Garden and was used by Lord Hosokawa Tadatoshi himself.
Visitors can experience ‘the best view in the Garden’ by sipping delicious green tea accompanied by a traditional sweet in the private teahouse by booking a seat.
Suizenji Jojuen
- 15 minutes by taxi from Kumamoto station
Kumamoto-Kagoshimachuo (Shinkansen)
The southern most city of Kyushu, Kagoshima, can be reached from Kumamoto by Shinkansen (bullet train). Operated by JR Kryushu, the Mizuho train is the fastest way to get there less than one hour, with no stops from Kumamoto to Kagashima station (Kagoshima-Chuo). The Sakura train can also be used which has more stops along the way.
Sengan-en (Gardens)
Sengan-en Garden is a Japanese-style garden on the north coast of downtown Kagoshima. From the garden, Kagoshima Bay is visible as is the volcano island of Sakurajima sitting off shore.
Sengan-en was built by one of the most power feudal clans during the Edo Period (1603-1867), the Shimazu Clan. In the centre of the gardens, the ‘Iso residence’ is the former home of the Shimazu family, which can be explored by visitors. The rooms have been preserved the way they were used in the 1890s and will take you back in time for a historical experience.
Senganen
- About a 1-hour express train trip from Kumamoto station to
Kagoshima-chuo station
- 20 minutes by taxi from Kagoshima-chuo station
Io World Kagoshima Aquarium
Located next to the Sakurajima Ferry terminal is the Io World Kagoshima Aquarium. An underwater world awaits to see all of the sea creatures found in the local Kagoshima Bay and much more.
Kagoshima Aquarium
- 15 minutes by taxi from Kagoshima-chuo station
Other recommended
KAGURA FESTIVAL (Kumamoto pref.) 2019/10/05
A kagura dancing extravaganza, with performances by a variety of troupes throughout the whole of each day.
Stalls sell food and sake for you to enjoy while you take in the incredible performances.
(700 per person of high-school age and over)
The Namino area of Aso City has a flourishing kagura dance scene. In this festival, a variety of troupes come together to show their moves on an open-air stage at Michi-no-Eki Namino Kaguraen Roadside Station. Some troupes even let you dance with them! When night falls, the performances get even more dramatic, with flaming torches lighting the stage.
For more information click here.
SENDAI?TSUNAHIKI (Kagoshima pref.) 2019/09/22
Beginning early in the morning on the festival day, over 1,500 participants tie 365 individual ropes together and spend half of the day weaving them into a single, giant rope. The main rope weighs 7 tons and is 365 meters long. Nearly 3,000 bare-chested men drag the rope in unison. The so-called oshitai (pushing squad) obstructs the opponent’s team by aggressively
ramming into it.
To book click here.
YOMITAN FESTIVAL (Okinawa pref.)
The whole of Yomitan Village comes together to put together the events of this festival, including the Akainko Grand Concert of Traditional Ryukyu Music, a concert named after a legendary figure in Ryukyu music and performed by over 300 local Ryukyu dancers and fans of traditional music, Uketsugo Yomitan no Kokoro (“Let’s Pass On the Heart of Yomitan”), a huge concert performed by local elementary and junior high school students and Shinkosen, a recreation of the ship said to have brought prosperity to the Ryukyu kingdom created with folk crafts by each residents’ association.
For more information click here.
Beer Factory Tour
SUNTORY KUMAMOTO
A tour of the beer factory is also popular. Click here for details.
Note: Reservations are required.
Rugby World Cup city guide – Kumamoto:
Comments on RugbyPass
“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
1 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
3 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
3 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
3 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to comments