Today, I’ll share part 2 of our Kyushu Itinerary. If you can recall, we begun our drive towards Nagasaki as soon as we landed in Fukuoka.
After 3 wonderful days in Nagasaki, it’s time to drive off to the next town – Kumamoto – and to continue our great road trip in southern Japan.
In Part 2 of our Kyushu trip, you’ll see us visiting Kumamoto city, Yufuin town and all the beautiful sights around these central inland part of Kyushu island. Without any further ado, let’s jump straight to Day 4 of our Kyushu Itinerary.
Day 4: Drive from Nagasaki to Kumamoto
After 3 nights in Nagasaki, we were ready to move to another city in Kyushu. We enjoyed the sumptuous breakfast at Dormy Inn Nagasaki and began our drive towards Kumamoto.
INFO: We moved around Kyushu easily with a rental car. However, if you prefer not to drive on foreign land, check out JR Kyushu Rail Pass that connects you between cities and Kyushu SunQ Pass that offers unlimited rides on buses and ferries.
This time around (after lesson on Day 1 – that of slow traffic), we decided to pay the expensive toll fee which summed up to over ¥5,000 for the 3 hours drive.
Tosu Premium Outlet (Kyushu Itinerary)
The only break we took was at Tosu Premium Outlet, located about 2 hours away from Nagasaki. It was quite a nice outlet to shop in and I bought items from Nike and The North Face.
Ichiran @ Kumamoto
Finally, by 4pm, we reached Kumamoto. Starving, we headed straight to Ichiran, which thankfully had no queue. What a yummy late lunch that I had been craving for since my last trip to Japan.
>> Related: 9 Days Tokyo Itinerary (Solo Trip)
I topped up the Ramen with spring onions and green tea pudding, and the latter turned out to be really good – creamy, thick and not too sweet. Total spoil was about ¥1,500 for my order.
A Quaint Airbnb@Kumamoto
This is the only Airbnb we would be staying in for this 2-week Kyushu trip. I love the quaint and cosy decor, that exuded a country vibe. Bonus was the kitchen and washing machine, though the room was lacking a wardrobe.
>> MUST-READ: Things to do around Fukuoka in 14 days
Shopped at Largest Mall in Kumamoto
Kumamoto is a town that sleeps early. Most malls were closed by 7pm and we had to drive to Aeon Mall Kumamoto located about 25 minutes drive away. This mall is said to be the largest shopping mall in Kumamoto.
Unfortunately, by the time I reached the mall, my illness had fully manifested and I found myself dragging my foot, and searching for random public couches to sleep in, than shop.
Deciding to call it a day earlier than planned, we packed some discounted bento from Aeon supermarket and made our way back. It’s not fun to be sick when holidaying.
TIP: As a reminder to myself, we should diligently wear mask one to two weeks before a trip, to protect ourselves. A few colleagues were coughing in the office and I could have gotten the virus from them.
Map Location for Day 4 (Nagasaki to Kumamoto)Dormy Inn Premium Nagasaki >> Toksu Premium Outlet >> Ichiran @ Kumamoto >> Airbnb (Kumamoto) >> Aeon Mall Kumamoto |
Day 5: Takachiho Gorge & Mount Aso (Kyushu Itinerary)
Of our 14 days in Kyushu, today marked the most scenic day of the trip. We’d a quick breakfast in our Airbnb, replenished petrol at a nearby pump (¥4,500) and drove about 1.5 hours to a popular tourist sight – Takachiho Gorge.
Row a boat at Takachiho Gorge (Kyushu Itinerary)
Takachiho Gorge offers a short trail with gorgeous view of waterfall pouring down a narrow chasm.
You can either walk the footpath above and admire the landscape or row a boat through the river. The latter is a popular activity and you need to book the boat a few days ahead to guarantee the rental. Unfortunately, the online system wasn’t working and we missed the chance to row a boat through the beautiful gorge.
Consolation to us was the short stretch of river that one could row their boat through. Boat rental was between ¥4,100 to ¥5,100 as at time of our visit. Do note that you need to pre-book online in advance to secure a boat.
TIP: Staying in Fukuoka and like to visit Takachiho Gorge. Take a look at this one-day tour – it also brings you to Kumamoto Castle.
Beef & Horse-meat Lunch?
On our way to the next sight (Mount Aso), we stopped by a random roadhouse – Sanroku Kitchen – for roasted beef bowl. This was also a place we could savor horse meat (a specialty in this region), but we were not gutsy enough.
TIP: One specialty in Kumamoto is horse meat. You’ll even see horse meat sashimi.
Here’s our pretty average lunch at the roadside shop located between Takachiho and Mount Aso.
The beef could have been more tender. This meal also warned us against relying too much on Google reviews unless it’s backed by thousands of reviews.
Great view at Mount Aso (Kyushu Itinerary)
The view driving up to Mount Aso was nothing short of being spectacular. The landscape was unique – rough, rugged and yet beautiful in its own way. I was left in awe and forced myself to stay awake in spite of my illness, so that I won’t miss the view.
Before reaching Mount Aso Visitor Centre, we passed by two observation decks and stopped at one of them (see locations of deck 1 & deck 2).
Unfortunately, when we arrived at the destination, we found Mount Aso Crater Trails – the main tourist activity here – closed due to increased volcanic activity. Needless to say, we were darn disappointed having driven about 1.5 hours from Takachiho Gorge.
Ranch, Horses & Green Plains at Kusasenri
Kusasenri – an extensive grassland that sits on the dormant floor of an ancient crater – was supposed to be an optional stop for us. But now, it’s the only place we could visit.
The premises here hold a volcano museum and some restaurants.
Instead of parking onsite (¥500), we found a nearby observation deck by chance that offered a fantastic view (plus parking was free – see location).
TIP: Staying in Fukuoka and prefer not to drive? You can rent a car that comes with a driver and design your own itinerary to visit places around Fukuoka. Alternatively, check out this day tour that brings you to Mount Aso.
For those staying in Kumamoto, this unique day tour that comes with no guide brings you to the Mount Aso region.
I have to really thank my partner for coming up with an impromptu itinerary – yes, he studied Google map on the spot and found an easy mountain to ascend. I was apprehensive as I was unwell, but the trail seemed easy.
Let’s give it a shot – adrenalin may help make things easier!
Mt Kishima: A Random Mountain that offers Stunning Crater View
Entrance to Mt Kishima trail can be easily accessed from the ranch (see location). An upward slope climb initially followed by some steps brought us to the summit within 30 minutes.
The view that we enjoyed – both on the way up as well as at the summit – made this a fantastic “find”! Our pain of regrets in not being able to visit the craters was soothed instantly.
Just look at this view!
The view on the way down of Mount Kishima nearing sunset was equally stunning!
Minami-Aso Panorama Line Observation Deck
On the way down, we stopped by one of the observation decks we’d missed earlier, at Minami-Aso Panorama Line Observation Deck.
Dinner at Michelin-Starred Tonkatsu @ Kumamoto
By evening, we were back at Kumamoto and queued a good 30 minutes for a popular Tonkatsu dinner at Katsuretsu Tei Shinshigai.
See our orders – 180g of fillet Katsu Zen (#6) and the man ordered #4. The pork was tender and delicious. However, I recalled being more wowed by my random Tonkatsu meal in Tokyo – see this post.
The restaurant also seemed to be 90% filled with tourists, us included. People around us were speaking in Cantonese or Chinese instead of Japanese. LOL! Gosh, I was supposed to be in Japan!
After the meal, I popped by Don Quijote (Minami-Kimamoto) near our Airbnb, loaded my first beauty haul and called it a day!
Map Location for Day 5 (Kumamoto & Around)Airbnb (Kumamoto) >> Takachiho Gorge >> Random Roadhouse for Beef Lunch >> Ranch-View Observation Deck >> Mount Aso Crater Trails >> Kusanserigahama Ranch >> Mt Kishima >> Minami-Aso Panorama Line Observation Deck >> Michelin-Starred Tonkatsu Restaurant (Kumamoto) > Don Quijote (Minami-Kimamoto) |
Day 6: Drive from Kumamoto to Yufuin (Kyushu Itinerary)
Today would be our last day in Kumamoto, but we still had some places we’d yet to visit. Let’s check them out before we leave!
First quick stop was to pose with Monkey D. Luffy statue.
Parking TIP: Park at this building if you drive. It’s free for 2 hours, which is quite rare in the whole of Kyushu.
Talking about parking, be prepared to fork out quite a bit for parking if you drive in Kyushu, be it parking at hotels (about ¥1,000 per day) or elsewhere (around ¥100 – ¥300 per 30 mins or hourly depending on time and location).
Thereafter, we drove to Kumamon Square as I wanted to visit the cute shop/”office” of the black mascot bear known as Kumamon. The place was probably undergoing renovation as I was underwhelmed by what I saw.
I regretted not spending the time at Suizenji Jojuen Garden instead, and the regrets lasted till today.
From Kumamon Square, we walked to a shopping street known as Sakura No Ba Ba. I’d thought it would be as good as the shopping street in Tokyo (near Asakusa), but was once again left underwhelmed.
Sakura No Ba Ba was rather deserted and food offerings were limited, with many stalls selling the same thing and mainly sweet stuff.
Another place nearby that we could visit if time was on our side, was Kumamoto Castle. As we’d seen many castles during our numerous Japan trip, castle or shrine was no longer a novelty attraction to us.
>> RELATED: Is Osaka Castle worth a visit?
We returned to where our car was, near Tsuruya Department Store, and bought bento lunches from the supermarket that came with ample seats for diners.
Now we were ready to leave Kumamoto, towards the next town – Yufuin!
“Milky” sights when driving from Kumamoto to Yufuin
Enroute to Yufuin, we drove past this long stretch of plain (Milk Road) that offered fantastic rural scenery that’s so rare in skyscraper-filled Singapore.
The view I captured at Nishiyunouraenchi Observatory was great, but what I saw in-person when driving along this “Milk” road – “infinite plains” – was many times more spectacular.
Nabegataki Waterfall: You could walk behind the water curtain!
About 2 hours drive from Kumamoto, we reached Nabegataki Waterfall. It was an easy 5-min walk from the carpark and required admission (¥300 per pax).
I think it’s worth the experience as you could walk behind the curtain of water, where a cave is located. There, you’ll enjoy fine mist of water spraying on you (don’t worry, you won’t get wet).
Checked into Yufuin Nanairo No Kaze Hotel
By 5pm, we finally reached the next town – Yufuin and checked into an old and dated Ryokan – Yufuin Nanairo No Kaze.
As I was busy at work (and didn’t have time to do research), I’d told my partner I wanted a hotel with traditional Japanese room and a good onsen (which reminded me of my good experience in Hakone).
>> Related: Slept like a baby in Hakone (Tokyo Solo Trip)
He got the requirements right, but the hotel was…..very very old and many facilities were spoilt or not opened.
The great thing – the onsen was spacious with indoor and outdoor pools. And you can enjoy the view of Mount Yufuin right from the bath.
Searching for Dinner at Yufuin
This is supposed to be a “Hakone-like” town, i.e. a place known for onsen and relaxation.
As expected, most shops and restaurants closed early. Through Google Map, we found a rare one that’s still opened till late and has a high rating. Unfortunately, it was the worst and most expensive meal of our entire Kyushu trip (¥8,000+)
This further confirms that reviews on Google map need to be studied. I would now sort and read the bad reviews first and see how recent they were posted and the frequency of such posting.
Onsen to end the day (Kyushu Itinerary)
Back at our hotel in Yufuin, we ended the day with an onsen bath. The walk to the onsen facilities was a little eerie and dark. Lights at some facilities and even the main hall were switched off.
In fact, my alert senses were up, and I’d to request my partner to walk me to the hot bath. But by day 2, I got used to it and the sense of danger eased greatly.
The hotel is definitely in a survival mode, where the need to repair broken things were not prioritised.
Onsen-wise, it was a great dip and I could do star-gazing at the outdoor pool. Temperature was nice too! The man did get the requirements right after all. LOL!
Map Location for Day 6 (Kumamoto to Yufuin)Airbnb (Kumamoto) >> Luffy D statue >> Kumamon Square >> Sakura No Ba Ba >> Kumamoto Castle >> Tsuruya Department Store >> Milk Road (Scenic road) >> Nabegataki Waterfall >> Yufuin Nanairo No Kaze Hotel |
That’s all to part 2 of our 14-day Kyushu trip. Continue with part 3 to see us explore the quaint Yufuin town, hike up Mount Kuju and travel to Beppu, yet another onsen town known for its geothermal pools.
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I enjoyed my trip to Kyushu in Feb 10 days got 7 day kyushu pass. I loved my trip but got food poisoning in Nagasaki didnt eat 3 days after while in Fukuoka sad as I wanted to go to some restaurants .I saw beautiful chinese New Year decorations along river in Nagasaki .