35-Day City-Hopping: 1 Day in Kumamoto

Last time, we explored the start of my city-hopping journey across Japan starting with 1 day in Kagoshima. While I would’ve loved to spend more time there, my schedule was tight. After Kagoshima, I had planned to spend 1 day in Kumamoto which is what we’ll be taking a look at below.

1 Day in Kumamoto

Arriving in Kumamoto

In less than an hour, the Shinkansen arrives at Kumamoto from Kagoshima.

Getting off the boarding platform, the city’s mascot, Kumamon, is immediately there to greet you (directly across the FamilyMart next to the ticket gates)!

But the clock was ticking. So as always, the first thing was to go to the hotel which I booked in the Kumamoto downtown area. Close to the Shimotori shopping district, Kumamoto castle, and the local tram line, Kumamoto’s downtown area is a very convenient location to stay. It’s a bit far from JR Kumamoto, but I’d gladly stay in the area the next time I return.

Given the close proximity to Kumamoto Castle, I figured it’d be most efficient to visit there first especially since it was still fairly early and thus probably was less crowded than if I had gone later.

Immediately past the ticket booth, there’s the bridge walkway connected to Kumamoto Castle which gives a great view of the castle itself and the buildings surrounding the castles.

Working upwards the stairs, a mountain backdrop against the castle grounds can be seen if it happens to be a clear day.

To reach the front yard of the castle, there’s a short passage which goes under one of the buildings. While passing through, there’s a blocked off passage called “The Dark Passage” which was supposedly a defense feature.

Before long, Kumamoto castle becomes visible from up close for the first time and likely in front of a large tree. From what it looked like on images online, it might not be a sakura tree but it still has its own appeal in complimenting the area. Because it’s winter, blossoming hasn’t begun yet so no one needs to know that it’s not a sakura tree!

Construction of the yard after the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake was still in progress, so it was a little difficult to capture a view of the city from there. Fortunately, there’s a small area when approaching the entrance of the castle that looks across the northern part of the city and isn’t obstructed by construction

Of course, being near the entrance also means getting a view of the castle from up close.

Inside of the castle, it’s very similar to a museum. At a quick glance, what seemed like the history of the castle and the development of the area around the castle throughout different points of history are explained thoroughly in (fairly difficult) Japanese. The major events (which are titled) have translations to identify the section. It definitely would’ve been possible to spend hours taking in the castle and its history, but with only so much time to spend in a 24-hour visit, it unfortunately turned into a 10-minute speedrun session with the end goal to take photos from the observatory.

Quickly rushing to the back to also grab a photo of the castle from the back, it had already passed 11:40 am!

There were still more areas around the castle to explore, but lunch was of a much higher priority as it was already creeping into the rush hour period. Considering the time it would take to reach a restaurant, it was probably already too late… Anyways, Kumamoto is known for eating horse meat, so that’s what I left in search of. However, it was the same as my Kagoshima dinner experience where every place was booked out. Having learned my lesson, I quickly searched for a restaurant where I could make a dinner time reservation. When I found a place I wanted to try, all time slots had been fully booked out except for 5:30 pm. While it’s not when I’d normally eat at home, I was thankful that I made the decision to eat at odd hours during the entire trip.

The “placeholder” for lunch, similar to dinner in Kagoshima, ended up being ramen. Fortunately, I had already done some research in advance and already knew that Kumamoto had its own style of ramen which was already on my list of foods to try. This made the search for a restaurant a lot quicker. Upon arriving, rush hour had already started as a sizable line was already formed. At this point, I had made a mistake which serves as a good lesson to be learned. Some restaurants keep their waiting lists inside and I didn’t realize this restaurant had one. By the time I had realized, a handful of people who arrived later than me got an earlier spot on the list.

Having waited what must’ve been 40 minutes in total, it was finally time to eat Kumamoto-style ramen… And it was probably one of my most favorite bowls of ramen from the entire trip. It was also really cheap, a mere 580 yen!

Heading back to the castle, there was this street that I saw earlier that had a bunch of stalls set up. Letting curiosity guide me, I ended up walking along that street to find out it was another shrine. I didn’t go in to check it out but instead walked along the street as it wrapped around the castle until reaching Sakura no baba Josaien, a sort of historical-feeling shopping district which neighbors the castle.

After making a quick go-around in the area, next was to check out Suizenji Jojuen Garden. Before that though, there was a shop in Sakura no baba Josaien that sold ikinari dango, a local dessert which I was looking to try. As it turned out, there was a highly rated shop by Suizenji Jojuen that sold ikinari-dango for fairly cheap, so I ended up skipping on the store that was in front of me.

Well, it turned out to be a mistake as the shop was closed. Checking the reviews of the shop, there was a comment from 2022 which said that during new year’s, you have to buy from the shop early or they will sell out. Since the new year’s holidays were technically already over, I figured it was just sold out for the day since it was already fairly late.

Heading into the garden, there’s a brief sense of having mostly escaped the city.

From some angles, the city will pop back out but will do so while providing a nice contrast to the garden.

There’s also a few shrines inside which weren’t particularly crowded at the time.

Even animals get to enjoy the garden!

Finished with the garden, there was a Monkey D. Luffy statue which is a 10 minute walk away. While I haven’t gotten around to starting One Piece, it was cool and close enough to say “why not check it out?”

At this point, it was nearly 4:00 pm, meaning only 1.5 hours until having dinner. Eating at the restaurant was a must, which meant that going too far was not an option. The best option I came up with in this case was to return to the downtown area. The first stop being Kumamon Square! Since it was a weekday, it was already too late to see a performance from Kumamon. Even so, there is a replica with which you can take photos.

The location is also a store, so it’s possible to buy various merchandise such as clothes and plushies. However, plushies seem to be very popular as they were mostly sold out when I asked the clerk. Don’t worry if this is the case as there are many other stores scattered around the city that will carry Kumamon goods, including the FamilyMart inside JR Kumamoto Station. Luckily, the plushie that was still in stock was the smallest size being sold, making it the perfect souvenir as a backpacker.

With a little more time still to kill, I decided to stroll around the Shimotori Shopping Arcade.

Along the way, there was a grocer which was selling Yuubeni, Kumamoto-grown strawberries. Japan is known for having really expensive fruits, so I knew I had to try them at least once to see what all the hype was about. It cost close to 800 yen for a pack, which was probably more expensive than buying it from a supermarket, but the thought never came up as time was ticking away.

The strawberries themselves were large and free from aesthetic damages. Each bite was filled with juices and had a soft sweetness to it; surprisingly not a single one was sour. If budget permits, definitely worth trying at least once.

At last, it was time for the long awaited horse meat dinner. Being in a huge rush to eat, the photos ended up a little blurry (apologies in advance). To start off the meal, marbled horse sashimi and horse shabu-shabu.

Curious about the other cuts of horse meat, I ordered assorted horse sashimi which is two slices each of 6 different cuts.

To finish off the meal, a non-alcoholic plum sake.

Overall a fantastic meal. In terms of taste, horse meat is quite similar to beef but with a gentle flavor that has little to no gaminess. The star of the show however, was definitely the soy sauce in my opinion. The umami of the soy sauce was like no other soy sauce I’ve had up until this point and I dare say that it was and still is the best soy sauce I’ve ever had. As for the price, it was close to 15,000 yen for everything. While that’s definitely more expensive than a lot of other foods, I found it was quite cheap when compared to other high-end restaurants.

To walk off the food, there was the Sakura Machi Kumamoto shopping center which seemed like a nice place to wander while having the opportunity to see what shopping malls are like in Japan. On the way, there was a pedestrian bridge from which it was possible to see the Kumamoto Castle light up at night.

The mall itself is large and is quite similar to those found around North America; shops of various sizes filling up the spaces, retail chains and food courts. However, there were a few points that made it feel different nonetheless. First being the atmosphere. Despite the similarities, something about the location felt better than the malls in North America. Thinking back, it must’ve been the cleanliness that made for an inviting space. Another point was the pop-up stores.

At the time, there were also Pokemon and Minecraft rented out store spaces to temporarily sell goodies.

On the topic of stores, one store in the mall worth noting is Kumamon Village. Similar to Kumamon Square, there are lots of Kumamon related merchandise for sale. The plushies seemed to be plentiful in stock which makes it a great back up/additional spot to visit after Kumamon Square. There was also a styled mascot of Kumamon to take photos with!

Finished with shopping, a thought came to mind that going back to Sakura no baba to buy an ikinari dango would mean not having to stick around for the next morning. Heading over there, it turns out it was closed. Rookie mistake! I figured that the mall was still open so Sakura no baba should also be open, but in reality I should’ve looked up the business hours before going. Thankfully, it’s a short walk between the mall and Sakura no baba. Not sure where to go next, I went back to the mall to explore some more and kill time.

After having walked enough to feel the slightest bit of peckishness, it was time to try out another local food. Surprisingly, it’s known less as Japanese cuisine and more as Chinese. This was taipien, a dish of noodles in soup.

Not sure how to spend the rest of the night, combined with the discomfort of being too full, I decided to call it an early night and went back to the hotel to wind down.

The Next Morning

The ikinari dango store near Suizenji Jojuen was listed on Google Maps to open at 8:00 am and figuring that the store should be open as it was no longer the new year’s holidays, I got up early and made my way there without having breakfast. Unfortunately it was still closed, so the roundtrip ended up being a waste of 1 hour. With that 1 hour, I really wish I had spent it hopping over to the next city, Fukuoka, as I ended up missing out on certain activities due to time pressures. But more on that next time… On the bright side, it was precisely because of this roundtrip that I found out Kumamoto has their own version of the Nimoca IC card!

Going back to Sakura no baba, the ikinari dango store was luckily open which meant that it was finally time to try ikinari dango for the first time. Having skipped breakfast, I opted for 2 different flavors.

It was finally time to leave Kumamoto and head to Fukuoka. Between checking out and taking the tram, it was 10:00 am when it was time to board the Shinkansen.

Thanks for reading! As always, I hope you’re enjoying following along my 35-day journey across Japan.

Summary and Lessons Learned

Summary

Hotel

Similar to Kagoshima, Kumamoto’s downtown core is quite distant from the JR Kumamoto Station, but is extremely convenient; the downtown core is close to the Shimotori shopping district, Kumamoto Castle and the local tram line. In the future, I’d gladly stay in the area again.

Attractions

Kumamoto Castle

A beautiful castle under reconstruction due to damage from earthquakes in 2016. It’s located right next to the downtown core which makes it extremely easy to visit. The inside of the castle is like a museum for the castle’s history and the town surrounding it. Note that there is an entrance fee.

Sakura no baba Josaien

Right across the street from Kumamoto Castle is a sort of historical-feeling shopping district that has a fair amount of food stalls which sell the local specialities of Kumamoto and more.

Suizenji Jojuen Garden

Approximately 20 minutes away by tram from Kumamoto Castle is a serene garden with a couple shrines inside. Note that there is an admission fee to enter.

Monkey D. Luffy Statue

A 10-minute walk from Suizenji Jojuen Garden is a statue of the famous One Piece character, Monkey D. Luffy.

Kumamon

The famous, cute mascot which was created by the government of Kumamoto prefecture. Throughout the city, Kumamon can be found in various outfits that you can take photos with. There are also many locations selling various Kumamon merchandise.

Shimotori Shopping Arcade

Making up part of Kumamoto’s downtown core is the Shimotori Shopping Arcade which is a pedestrian street lined with many businesses.

Food

Kumamoto Ramen

Kumamoto also has its own spin on ramen which is not too far off from the commonly known tonkatsu ramen. Of all variations of ramen across Japan, Kumamoto ramen might just be my favorite one.

Yuubeni Strawberries

A variety of strawberries from Kumamoto. The berries were free from blemishes and have a beautiful hue of red. This variety of strawberries is very juicy and has a gentle sweetness in each bite.

Horse Cuisine

Kumamoto is known for using horse meat in its cuisine. Horse sashimi and horse shabu-shabu are popular ways of eating it.

Taipien

A noodle soup from Chinese cuisine which is popular in Kumamoto. Outside of Kumamoto, it seems to not be very common, making this a local dish in its own way.

Ikinari Dango

A traditional confectionery which is like mochi but filled with sweet potato.

Lessons Learned

Make Reservations - Horse Cuisine

Although it was technically no longer the new year’s holidays, the restaurants serving horse cuisine were still insanely busy; trying to find a seat during lunch hours without a reservation was basically impossible. Luckily there were still available slots for dinner, although a bit earlier in the evening. Be sure to get a reservation if you’re committed to trying horse cuisine.

Check for Waiting Lists

Some restaurants don’t accept reservations and will require that you wait in line. Others will instead use a waiting list if all the seats get filled. Some businesses make it obvious by putting the list outside, but others will keep it inside so make sure to briefly check inside even if there’s a line outside.

Ikinari Dango

Shops that sell this traditional confectionery are few and far between inside the city of Kumamoto. When the other shops selling ikinari dango were closed for the new year’s, the stall inside Sakura no baba Jousaien remained open. If you’re traveling during the new year’s holidays or simply want to reduce the risk of missing out on ikinari dango, consider enjoying one at Sakura no baba Jousaien. It’s likely more expensive than getting it elsewhere, but that’s still better than not being able to try it at all.