When most people visit Kumamoto, they only come from Fukuoka for the day. They’re missing out, but you don’t have to, especially with useful sample Kumamoto itineraries to organize your trip.
With pirates, volcanos, a castle, and a distinct hometown ramen style, Kyushu’s third-largest city deserves more of your Japan trip.
Here are 10 things you’ll want to do during your trip to Kumamoto, plus suggested Kumamoto itineraries based on how much time you can visit.
Why visit Kumamoto?
A stunning historic castle. Anime destinations. Iconic natural settings. Delicious food. Any or all of these things might drive your desire to visit Japan. You can find them in popular destinations, but those places also face record crowds.
Whereas on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, Kumamoto has all the good stuff without the overcrowding. Plus, you can get around this smaller city and its beautiful countryside faster and easier than getting around lovely but gigantic Tokyo.
Plan your trip to Kumamoto
10 things to do in Kumamoto, Japan
Our family of four stayed a month in Kumamoto, so we could enjoy its highlights and inspire you to visit a city that’s big enough to have lots to do, but small enough to enjoy with ease.
Here are 10 things you’ll want to consider for your own Kumamoto itineraries and visit.
1. Kumamoto Station and Amu Plaza
If the train is bringing you to Kumamoto, your trip starts as soon as you set yourself on the platform.
Inside the station itself, snag a stamp. Look out for photo-ready Kumamon and One Piece exhibits too.
Japanese train stations often incorporate shopping areas and restaurants. Amu Plaza at Kumamoto Station has an excellent food court, particularly the tonkatsu stall. One Piece fans can head to the Mugiwara Store for gifts and collectibles.
The station is also a hub for catching the local tram.
2. Kumamoto Castle
Above all for Kumamoto itineraries, you want to visit Kumamoto Castle. While a massive earthquake in 2016 nearly destroyed it, the castle survived and is undergoing major restoration. It’s not only a symbol of resilience, but it’s simply beautiful. The raised location looks out on the countryside, and when conditions are right you can even see the steam rising from the Mount Aso volcano to the east.
A couple of hours is a good minimum for visiting the castle itself. That includes the grounds around it, the walkway that puts you overall the renovation zones, and touring the floors of the castle, which are now a richly detailed museum. The top floor of the castle offers a panoramic view of the Kumamoto countryside.
3. Sakura-no-baba Josaien
Either before going up to the castle or as you come down, also wander the shops and food stalls of the Sakura-no-baba Josaien. It’s a fun place to snag ice cream, sweet potato balls, mustard-stuffed fried lotus root, and horse meat sashimi.
Even better? Many offerings are seasonal, so what you find depends on the time of year you visit.
This recreation of a seventeenth century castle village is also home to the Kumamoto Castle Museum Wakuwakuza. Whether posing for photos with the scale model of the castle or checking out the interactive displays, both adults and kids left with a much deeper understanding of the castle, its role in history, and the efforts to restore this iconic Japanese landmark.
When visiting the village and museum, we’d suggest at least an hour, and preferably two hours if you’d like to get more in-depth with the museum exhibits. Inside the museum, also ask for the free stamps.
We really enjoyed Sakura-no-baba Josaien and the museum. If museums aren’t your thing or if you’re tight on time for your Kumamoto itinerary, it’s okay to skip these though.
4. Sakura Machi Shopping Center and Kumamon Souvenirs
Just a few minutes walk from Kumamoto Castle, the Sakura Machi shopping center is more than a mall. Sakura Machi’s basement has a stellar food court with affordable casual restaurants. During our month in Kumamoto, we stayed near Sakura Machi, and came to the supermarket here for most of our day to day groceries.
There are cool shops, including a Ghibli store on the third floor. On the basement level, a souvenir shop not only has regional foods and crafts, but an excellent section dedicated to the One Piece anime and manga.
Your best shopping is on the second floor. That’s where you’ll find Kumamon Village, complete with life-size selfie-ready Kumamon figures, plus all the Kumamon merch you could possibly want, from apparel to clip-on charms.
On the street level you can also find the Sakura Machi Bus Terminal.
Also on the second floor next to Kumamon Village, you can snag a Kumamon Card. As of 2024, this I.C. Card has replaced similar cards such as Suica and Pasmo. If you want to use an I.C. Card to pay for bus fares and tram fares, you’ll need to get a Kumamon card. If you’re staying longer than a few days, it might be worthwhile. Otherwise, you can pay cash for your fares.
5. Community plaza at Sakura Machi
Outside of Sakura Machi’s main entrance, a plaza regularly hosts community events, ranging from public works days where kids can check out police cars and fire trucks, appearances by athletes from local sports teams, to the Kumamoto Christmas Market in December. When you’re there, keep an eye out for anything happening in this plaza.
6. Covered shopping arcades
Otherwise, you owe yourself a wander along the covered shopping arcades across from Sakura Machi.
These wide, lofty streets are lined with restaurants, cafes, and shops. Sunroad Shinshigai was a regular thoroughfare for us, along with Shimotori. These covered areas also hosted community events throughout the week, such as one weekend when we saw area after area full of kids doing various crafts and checking out what it’s like to work in different careers from medicine to manufacturing.
If you have some time after your castle visit, or have a few days in Kumamoto, this area is a true local slice of life, and it’s packed with tasty places to eat.
At the very least, we’d suggest going to Kumamon Village for some Kumamon souvenirs.
While you can find Kumamon merch throughout Kumamoto Prefecture, the Village had the broadest selection. And the adorable bear just has a way of giving your heart a big hug.
However, if time is tight, you can skip this area. We, however, long to go back to Kumamoto just so we can eat at more places along Shimotori alone.
7. Suizenji Jojuen Garden
The serene Suizenji Jojuen Garden is best known for its tsukiyama, or human-made mountain, made at scale to resemble Mount Fuji. A lot of Kumamoto intersects at the park, but if all you want is time in green space, this is the place for you.
We would consider Suizenji a priority on Kumamoto itineraries, especially during spring and fall, when your trip might coincide with cherry blossoms or with autumn leaves. Given other outdoor and nature experiences we did during our time here, we actually didn’t make it to this park. However, we have another visit coming up to Japan, this time during summer.
We plan to head back to Kumamoto, and Suizenji is one of the first spots we’re spending time in.
8. One Piece Monkey D. Luffy statue
First, we’re talking to our fellow Straw Hat fans. Kumamoto is the hometown of Eiichiro Oda, the creator of the worldwide manga, anime, and Netflix live-action series phenomenon One Piece.
Throughout Kumamoto Prefecture, there are statues of all ten main characters.
We’ll talk more in a bit about how to see all ten.
For the casual visitor though, it’s worth it to see just one statue.
The main One Piece character is stretchy rubber man Monkey D. Luffy. His amazing statue is right out front of the Kumamoto Prefecture Administrative Office, just a few minutes bus ride from Kumamoto Castle or Sakuramachi.
Even if you aren’t a One Piece devotee like we are, odds are someone in your life is. You owe it to them to get a selfie with Luffy, along with a few snaps of the future king of the pirates.
More details in our full One Piece fandom travel guide
9. Ajisen Ramen
Another perk of visiting Luffy? Right around the corner, just past the bus stop, is the world headquarters of Ajisen Ramen. This garlicky global style has its origins in Kumamoto, and we found a bowl to be refreshing and restorative after a day’s sightseeing.
Luffy and Ajisen are easy to get to by local bus. There is nothing else like the Luffy statue, and we’d suggest making it here if you can. Plus, ramen. It’s like a two-for-one of Japanese travel experiences.
10. Day trip to Mt. Aso
While Mt. Fuji is the most iconic mountain in Japan, did you know that there’s a bigger, active volcano that’s easy to visit, even with kids?
In fact, you can drive all the way up to Nakadake Crater of Mt. Aso, or Aso-san (阿蘇山). Plus, visiting Mt. Aso is an ideal day trip from Kumamoto (くまもと / 熊本市) and deserves a spot on lengthier Kumamoto itineraries.
Technically you can visit here with a combo of buses and trains, but the transit alone is going to take at least three hours out and three hours back.
We’d suggest either renting a car, or booking a day trip on an organized tour.
Personally, we rented a car. The drive from our Sakura Machi-area rental to the crater rim overlook was about an hour and a half. Plus, it was easy to drive to nearby Aso itself for photos with another One Piece statue, Usopp, which is outside of Aso Station.
Before you go, it’s crucial to remember that Mount Aso is an active volcano. While it’s open to the public, sometimes conditions are dangerous and the public areas have to be closed for safety.
Visiting is worth it, but have a backup plan. If you can’t go to the crater rim overlook itself, go wherever is open in the park. Plus, you can still visit the museum, observation decks, and other outdoor areas nearby.
Before you go to Mount Aso, check the crater conditions website.
More details in our full Mt. Aso guide
Getting to Kumamoto
Getting to Kumamoto is easy: On a Shinkansen high-speed train, Kumamoto is only about 45 minutes south of Fukuoka.
If you head straight to Kumamoto from Tokyo, you can fly to Kumamoto Aso Airport (which is also home to a really cool One Piece mural). Or, a train ride on the Shinkansen from Tokyo Station takes about five and a half hours, and that’s how we got to Kumamoto.
If people start in Fukuoka, sometimes they rent a car there for many days, and drive down to Kumamoto, especially if they’re visiting other parts of Kyushu too.
Sample Kumamoto itineraries
How long should you stay in Kumamoto?
We stayed a month, and we could easily stay another month. Fortunately, you can get at least a taste of Kumamoto in as little as one day, but don’t be surprised if you leave wishing you’d made more time.
If you can stay longer, all the better. But no matter how much time you can devote to this lovely bear-mascoted city, it’ll be worthwhile.
Day trip
If time is tight and you really can only spare a day, we suggest two main sites, plus one optional attraction.
Your top priority is visiting Kumamoto Castle. If time allows, go to the museum and to the Sakura-no-baba Josaien village.
Hint: Anywhere you see a Kumamon, the adorable black and white bear mascot of Kumamoto, get a photo with it. There’s a Kumamon inside the museum, near the village gate, and also on the outside deck at the nearby Sakuramachi shopping center.
Your second priority is Suizenji Gardens.
Optionally, visit the Monkey D. Luffy statue and snag a bowl of ramen around the corner at Ajisen.
One night
If you’re at least overnighting in Kumamoto, we’d suggest getting in as early as you can the day before.
Look for places to stay near Kumamoto Station or near Sakuramachi, especially for ease of access to public transportation.
If you at least arrive by lunchtime, you could take the tram from Kumamoto Station to Kumamoto Castle and visit that, the museum, and the village.
After the castle, head to the shopping arcade for dinner, perhaps a beverage, and definitely some people-watching. On your way back to the bus or tram, nip into Sakura Machi for some souvenirs.
The next day, spend your morning in nature at Suizenji Gardens.
Then head to the Luffy statue, go to Ajisen Ramen for lunch, and make your way to your next destination, even though you’ll sadly no longer be in Kumamoto.
Two nights
Now we’re getting somewhere.
Follow the same itinerary as for one night.
After you visit the Luffy statue and lunch on Ajisen ramen, snag a bus to the Kumamoto City Zoological and Botanical Gardens. There, get some photos with Chopper, the shapeshifting reindeer doctor of the pirate crew in One Piece.
From the zoo, snag a bus or tram to Kumamoto Station, and get dinner, plus some souvenirs, at Amu Plaza.
The next day, take a day trip to Mount Aso and the surrounding area.
Three nights
Your third day can be very much a choose-your-own-adventure day, especially if you rented a car. Here are some options to consider:
- Drive east to Takachiho Gorge in neighboring Miyazaki Prefecture
- Visit more of the One Piece statues (check the description to our link to all things One Piece tourism, including how to visit all ten statues)
- Ride the Shinkansen an hour south to Kagoshima, which overlooks the active Sakurajima volcano in the middle of the water
- Visit Reigando Cave, said to be where legendary Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi lived the last two years of his life, which he spent writing the classic strategy text, the Book of Five Rings.
Where to stay in Kumamoto
Where to stay in Kumamoto, Japan
Accommodation in and around Kumamoto City
Places to stay in Aso and Kumamoto Prefecture
Kumamoto is much more than a day trip from Fukuoka
Kumamoto is the epicenter of One Piece fandom, a fun city, home to an iconic castle, and much more. A visit here gets you into a more outgoing, lively part of Japan. You’re in a city, but nature is minutes away.
Like we said, our month in Kumamoto was amazing, yet we could still spend so much more time in this incredible Kyushu city. We hope that your own trip is full of fun, and that you leave with treasured memories—not to mention some adorable Kumamon souvenirs.
Want to know more about visiting Kumamoto?
Kumamoto, Japan family travel and accessible travel
