+Timothy Tye

Home Kumamoto Prefecture (熊本県), Japan

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Landscape of Kusasenrigahama at Mount Aso, Kumamoto Prefecture
Landscape of Kusasenrigahama at Mount Aso, Kumamoto Prefecture
Author: 날개 (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)


Kumamoto Prefecture (熊本県) is a prefecture on the central western part of Kyushu in southern Japan. It covers 7,404.14 sq km and has a population of 1.8 million people (2011 estimate). The capital is also called Kumamoto.


Suizenji Japanese Garden in Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture
Suizenji Japanese Garden in Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture
Author: 663highland (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)

 Kumamoto Prefecture is bordered by Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Oita Prefecture to the northeast, Miyazaki Prefecture to the east and Kagoshima Prefecture to the south. It faces the Ariake Inland Sea to the west. As with the other prefectures of Japan, Kumamoto Prefecture was created during the Meiji Restoration of 1871. It was formerly known as Higo Province.

Kumamoto Prefecture is the location of Mount Aso, the most active volcano in Japan. It is located in the eastern part of the prefecture.


Tsujun Bridge, Kumamoto Prefecture
Tsujun Bridge, Kumamoto Prefecture
Author: Eiko (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)

Planning your trip to Kumamoto

You can reach Kumamoto by taking the Kyushu Shinkansen bullet train from Fukuoka (50 min, ¥4990) and Kagoshima (60 min, ¥6760). From Honshu Island, you can take the Sanyo Shinkansen from Osaka (3 hr 20 min, ¥18,020), Okayama (2 hr 30 min, ¥16,030) or Hiroshima (1 hr 45 min, ¥12,970) to Kyushu Island, and change to the Kyushu Shinkansen.

You can also fly to Kumamoto, arriving at the Aso-Kumamoto Airport (KMJ), which receives flights from Tokyo-Haneda, Nagoya-Centrair, Nagoya-Komaki, Osaka-Itami, Kobe and Seoul-Incheon, among others. It's an hour by shuttle bus from the airport to Kumamoto (¥670).


 Kurakawa Onsen, Kumamoto Prefecture
Kurakawa Onsen, Kumamoto Prefecture
Author: hiroooooki (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)

Cities of Kumamoto Prefecture

  1. Kumamoto - capital
  2. Amakusa
  3. Arao
  4. Aso
  5. Hitoyoshi
  6. Kami-Amakusa
  7. Kikuchi
  8. Koshi
  9. Minamata
  10. Tamana
  11. Uki
  12. Uto
  13. Yamaga
  14. Yatsushiro

Tourist Attractions of Kumamoto Prefecture

  1. Kumamoto Castle
  2. Mount Aso
  3. Suizen-ji Japanese Garden
  4. Tsujun Bridge


Japan Travel Guide


Planning a vacation in Japan?

Hello and thanks for visiting my Japan Travel Guide!

Japan is a country of astounding contrast and beauty. With this website, I want to take you on an armchair journey to explore it from length to length, visiting every prefecture, every city, to admire all the sights - and doing so from the comfort of home. Whether you are viewing this website as preparation for a visit to Japan, or simply browsing it for fun, I hope you will derive lots of viewing pleasure.

Accommodation usually consumes a large proportion of any travel budget. So if you are traveling to Japan (or elsewhere), it is prudent to do a bit of research, to find the lowest rate for your hotel room. Different booking sites offer the same room at a different rate, so it pays to compare. To take away the tediousness of visiting different sites, use a hotel search engine, like the one on this page. Just key in your destination and travel period, and it will show you the best price among all major online booking sites. This guarantees you the lowest price every time.




The official currency in Japan is the Japanese Yen (JPY). Here's latest exchange rates in the last 24-hours.




Lastly, let me line up a selection of books which you may want to read ahead of your trip. You can get them directly from Amazon.





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