Aso Kuju National Park

It was a rare treat to have a day trip starting from Kumamoto, and seeing the autumn leaves in Takachiho during autumn was truly beautiful! It was a little disappointing that it was cloudy that day; it would probably be even more beautiful on a sunny day (?). But overall, I highly recommend it! If you go to Kusasenri, you absolutely must try the ice cream and drink the local milk—it's even richer than Hokkaido's! The tour guide and driver were both very nice. If any of my friends are planning a trip to Kumamoto, I'll definitely recommend this itinerary again!

The app's emails, which were in Chinese, could use some improvement, but I received one in Japanese three days before the trip. We were supposed to meet near the bus rotary at Hakata Chikushiguchi and head for the yellow flags, but when we got there, there were a lot of people with yellow flags. I checked with one of them, and he was fluent in English, Japanese, and Chinese, directing us. Since the tour is run by a Chinese company, the tour conductor was a Chinese national, Mr. You, a 10-year veteran guide. When we gathered in the medium-sized bus, we realized we were the only two Japanese people there—everyone else was foreign. Conversely, we were treated specially, sitting in the front row. The tour was a speedy, efficient day trip. I imagined a Japanese travel agency would have allowed a little more time, but the time was perfectly timed. However, after the trip, I realized they were trying to accommodate foreigners, since they couldn't always visit at their leisure, by showing us as many places as possible. At the iconic Takachiho waterfall in Miyazaki, we even enjoyed rowing our own boat. I couldn't paddle well, so I plunged into a waterfall. Getting wet was a good memory. The Miyazaki beef for lunch was seriously delicious.