Kumamoto

Getting Here and Around

The Kyushu Sanko bus makes the 50-minute run from Kumamoto Airport to JR Kumamoto Station for ¥670. Flights on ANA, JAL, and Sky Net Asia (SNA) connect Tokyo's Haneda Airport with Kumamoto Airport (1¾ hours). ANA and JAL fly the hour-long route from Osaka's Itami Airport eight times a day.

The Nagasaki Ken-ei Bus (from Nagasaki Ken-ei Bus Terminal) costs ¥3,600 and takes three hours to Kumamoto City Kotsu Center. Kyushu-Sanko buses leaving from Kumamoto City Kotsu Center take 3 hours 15 minutes to Kagoshima, via change at Hotoyoshi for ¥3,650. There's also a bus route linking the onsen paradise of Yufuin and Kumamoto in 4½ hours for ¥3,450, and from April to October a trip via Aso-san (90-minute-stop for Aso sightseeing) can be done for ¥5,800 in about six hours. Call Kyushy-Sanko at 096/354-4845 for reservations (recommended).

A sightseeing bus, also operated by Kyushu Sanko, makes a four-hour scenic trip (¥3,790) that starts at Fugen-dake and Shimabara, then ferries across Ariake Bay to Kumamoto-ko (Kumamoto Port) before ending the journey at Kumamoto City Kotsu Center.

The JR Tsubame or Ariake Express from Fukuoka's Hakata Station stops at Kumamoto Station and takes 1¼ hours, ¥3,740. From Nagasaki, take JR to Tosu and change to the train for Kumamoto (3 hours, ¥ 6,170).

In most Japanese cities the hive of activity is around the station. However, very little of interest surrounds JR Kumamoto Station; the bulk of the town's attractions are to the northeast, squeezed in between the Tsuboi and Shira rivers. Most of what constitutes downtown huddles around the old castle, up there.

This is one spread-out city, and buses get stuck in all the traffic, so your best bet is to hop a streetcar. Tram lines (Nos. 2 and 3) connect the major areas of the city. The fare is a flat ¥150; pay as you get off. From the Kumamoto Eki-mae streetcar stop in front of the train station it's a 10-minute ride downtown. One-day travel passes, good for use on streetcars and city buses, are available for ¥500 from the City Tourist Information Office. There is also Castle Loop Bus that connects a string of sights around the castle with a stop across from the main train station and runs every 30 minutes from 8:30 to 5 daily. Tickets (¥130 single stop, or ¥300 for the day) can be bought at the tourist office in the station or at the Kotsu Center Bus Terminal near the castle.

The City Tourist Information Office can provide maps and information in English. The city's Web site, Visit Kumamoto, also has good descriptions of major sights.