Introducing Japan: Kumamoto

By Dr. Thiraporn Charoenraks

Kumamoto Castle in background

Kumamoto is the name of a prefecture and its capital city at the center of Kyushu island. Symbolic of the area’s long history is the Kumamoto Castle, one of Japan’s largest and most famous ancient fortresses. The castle is most beautifully viewed in the spring, against a foreground of kimono-clad brides and grooms posing for wedding photos amidst stands of cherry blossom trees.

Kumamoto’s greatest attraction has to be the still-active, 1,592-meter volcano Mt. Aso, which boasts the world’s largest crater basin. Mt. Aso comprises five peaks, each a cratered volcano, and two valleys. The diameter of the mountain’s outer rim is nearly 25 kilometers at some points, with a circumference of about 120 kilometers. When the mountain isn’t acting up, the peaks are accessible to hikers, while the grassy mountainside plains and lowlands offer a plethora of recreational opportunities, including sightseeing, horseback riding and golf. The mountain’s magma fuels a myriad of wonderful hot-spring spas around the Aso area. Probably the most famous spa is Kurokawa Onsen, a steamy hot-spring village dotted with rustically crafted traditional inns lining a river that runs through its wooded valley.

Besides its famed mountains, Kumamoto has wonderful parks. There is, for example, Suizenji Park with its large Japanese landscape garden featuring crystal clear, spring-fed ponds and unique motifs of Mt. Fuji and other beautiful spots around Japan. For family fun, one can also visit such venues as the Aso Farm Land or Aso Milk Farm, which allow the visitors to interact with domestic animals, such as by milking cows.

When traveling, I like trying the local cuisine. Kumamoto is known throughout Japan for its basashi (raw horse meat) and karashi renkon (peppery-hot lotus roots). If you don’t find these to be that delectable, I suggest you try the local sweets. My favorite is the pudding, especially as it is prepared in the hot-spring town of Tsuetate Onsen, where 20 lovely cafés, some inside Japanese inns, serve pudding prepared with their own unique recipes. This tradition harkens back to a time when the village spas steamed eggs over their hot springs and made a tasty custard out of them to serve as a treat to guests. Now, one can make a sort of pilgrimage around the town’s cafés. Tsuetate Onsen is accessed by bus from Aso Station on the Hohi Main Line.

Lovely pudding set

Basashi meal

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