Kumamoto City

It was a great trip, but I felt the time in Takachiho was a bit rushed. The tour guide was very attentive in guiding us through the sights. Thank you to the driver for his safe driving. Everyone, young and old, had a great time.

The boat trip was fast and very clean. Bringing a car on board saved a lot of time, and we were pleasantly surprised to see so many seagulls.

After booking your trip, you'll receive a voucher, which will be a PDF. The PDF will detail the boarding times, itinerary, tickets, and important notes (in Chinese). The places that felt a bit rushed were the Aso Mt. Terminal and the Aso Crater. According to the itinerary, upon arriving at Terminal, you have to queue for the bus, and since the bus arrives quickly, there's no time to eat ice cream or browse souvenir shops. The time spent at the Aso Crater is also a bit short, especially if you want to take plenty of photos and walk all the trails, which requires more time. Back at Terminal, I remember the bus departs in 15 minutes, so if you need to use the restroom, eat ice cream, or browse the souvenir shops, there's definitely not enough time. Lunch was at Douce Nucca, next to the Kusanagi Aso Volcano Museum. The hamburger steak was delicious! You'll have three hours here, which is plenty of time. Finally, you return to Aso Station and can leisurely shop at the souvenir shops nearby. I stop at Aso Station for about 30 minutes in the morning to see what I want to buy, and then come back in the afternoon to buy it. The pudding is delicious! The coffee jelly is very coffee-flavored.

Since our accommodation was near the Sakuramachi Bus Terminal, and most other day tours depart from Kumamoto JR Station and require early morning departures, this tour was perfect because it included pick-up from the Sakuramachi Bus Terminal. Plus, we wanted to visit Aso and Takachiho, so it was ideal! If I remember correctly, this was a local tour company's itinerary, so about two-thirds of the passengers were locals. The tour guide spoke Japanese, but there was a Chinese-speaking translator, so there was no need to worry. The times for each stop were clearly indicated on signs. The tour quality was excellent; the guide, translator, and driver were all very friendly, and we had a great time. We ate lunch at a local restaurant in Takachiho and chatted with other Japanese members of the tour group, giving us a real sense of traveling abroad!

I participated in half of the tour. It snowed in Kumamoto that day, and the road conditions were difficult, but thanks to the efforts of the driver and tour guide Ningning, we completed the tour smoothly and perfectly. The Takachiho Scenic Railway was a novel experience, but it was very windy and cold outdoors. The scenery of Takachiho Gorge was beautiful. Although the return trip from there was also beautiful, Mount Aso was stunning. Although it was extremely cold on the mountain and our time there was short, the later clearing weather at Mount Aso was also captivating. The ice cream in Kusanagi Senri was delicious, and there were souvenirs available to buy.

The weather was fantastic, and Kumamoto Castle was beautiful! Thank you to the people who worked so hard to restore the buildings and preserve the culture.