Kumamoto: Local Specialties, Souvenirs, Shrines & Temples, Sightseeing | Japan 47 Prefecture Guide
Kumamoto is the prefecture of the Aso caldera and the water that runs from it. A volcano became, directly, the condition of its industries.
Local Specialties
Very nearly all of Japan's igusa rush is grown in Kumamoto, concentrated around the city of Yatsushiro.
Igusa is the material for the facing of tatami. As demand for tatami fell, this district was forced into a major change of direction. The work now goes on to widen into tatami mats, small goods and even edible rush. The problem that faces most traditional industries is plainly visible here.
Horse sashimi (first in Japan for horsemeat), tomatoes, Kumamoto red beef, Kuma shochu, and Amakusa sea bream.
Souvenirs
Ikinari dango is a round of sweet potato and bean paste wrapped in dough and steamed. The name is said to come either from being quick to make, or from the Kumamoto dialect for something you can serve to an unexpected guest.
Karashi renkon, local confectionery, and Shodai ware vessels.
Sacred Sites | Shrines & Temples
Aso Jinja is the head shrine of Japan's Aso shrines (about 500 shrines). Sakitsu Kyokai is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 29 shrines and temples worth knowing in Kumamoto.
Aso Jinja(Aso)Shinto shrine / Ichinomiya (first shrine) of Higo Province / Important Cultural Property / Aso / Head shrine of Aso shrines (about 500 shrines) / Blessings: good harvests, warding off misfortune, love and relationships
The 2016 Kumamoto earthquake brought down its gate and worship hall. Every fallen piece was numbered, collected, and where usable returned to its original position; the gate was restored in 2023. Not rebuilt, but put back with the same timber. The idea of repairing rather than replacing, which this series keeps meeting, is happening here in the present tense.
Aoi Aso Jinja(Hitoyoshi)Shinto shrine / National Treasure / Hitoyoshi and Kuma / Blessings: warding off misfortune, good harvests
Its main hall, corridor and gate are National Treasures. It is rare for thatched shrine architecture to be designated a National Treasure.
Heitate Jingu(Yamato)Shinto shrine / Aso / Blessings: good fortune, mountain worship
Almost at the centre of Kyushu, high above sea level. The great cedar in its grounds is said, by tradition, to be 15,000 years old.
Kato Jinja(Kumamoto)Shinto shrine / Kumamoto / Blessings: victory, good fortune
It enshrines Kato Kiyomasa. Standing beside the honmaru of Kumamoto Castle, it looks up at the keep from close range.
Kikuchi Jinja(Kikuchi)Shinto shrine / Kumamoto / Blessings: victory
It enshrines the Kikuchi clan, who fought for the Southern Court. Also known for its cherry blossom.
Kamishikimi Kumano Imasu Jinja(Takamori)Shinto shrine / Aso / Blessings: good fortune
An approach lined with lanterns through a stand of cedars. The Ugatoiwa, a great rock pierced through at the far end, is said to let wishes pass.
Honmyoji(Kumamoto)Buddhist temple / Important Cultural Property / Kumamoto / Blessings: victory
The mausoleum of Kiyomasa. The Jochibyo stands at the top of 176 stone steps.
Fujisaki Hachimangu(Kumamoto)Shinto shrine / Kumamoto / Blessings: victory
The tutelary shrine of Higo, known for its autumn festival and its procession of attendant warriors.
Oe Tenshudo(Amakusa)church / Amakusa / Blessings: rebirth and renewal
A white church on a hill, standing in a village of hidden Christians.
Sakitsu Kyokai(Amakusa)church / UNESCO World Heritage (Cultural) / Amakusa / Blessings: good catches, rebirth and renewal
It stands within a fishing village. Unusually, the floor inside is laid with tatami.
Kokuzo Jinja(Aso)Shinto shrine / Aso / Blessings: good harvests
The north shrine of Aso Jinja. Known for the great cedar of Tono.
Ugeto no Iwa(Takamori)Shinto shrine / Aso / Blessings: good fortune, victory
A great hole said to have been kicked through by an ogre. It is held to let any difficulty pass.
Takamori Aso Jinja(Takamori)Shinto shrine / Aso / Blessings: good harvests
The tutelary shrine of southern Aso. It preserves the Fuchin festival.
Shirakawa Yoshimi Jinja(Minamiaso)Shinto shrine / Aso / Blessings: long life
It stands at the mouth of the Shirakawa spring. One of the hundred famous waters of Japan.
Ungan Zenji(Kumamoto)Buddhist temple / Kumamoto / Blessings: victory
It has the Reiganto cave, where Miyamoto Musashi wrote the Book of Five Rings.
Kengun Jinja(Kumamoto)Shinto shrine / Kumamoto / Blessings: victory, warding off misfortune
Held to be the oldest shrine in Kumamoto. Its approach runs about 500 metres.
Izumi Jinja(Kumamoto)Shinto shrine / Kumamoto / Blessings: long life
It stands within Suizenji Jojuen garden, and enshrines the Hosokawa family.
Kitaoka Jinja(Kumamoto)Shinto shrine / Kumamoto / Blessings: warding off misfortune, love and relationships
A married pair of camphor trees stands on the approach. A shrine of the Gion faith.
Jochibyo(Kumamoto)Buddhist temple / Kumamoto / Blessings: victory
Kato Kiyomasa lies here. It was built at the same height as Kumamoto Castle.
Kikuchi Jinja(Kikuchi)Shinto shrine / Kumamoto / Blessings: victory
It enshrines the Kikuchi family, who fought for the Southern Court.
Kosa Jinja(Kosa)Shinto shrine / Kumamoto / Blessings: good harvests
One of the four Aso shrines. It stands by a river known for weir fishing for sweetfish.
Konoura Jinja(Uki)Shinto shrine / Kumamoto / Blessings: good catches
One of the four Aso shrines, facing the Ariake Sea.
Yatsushiro Jinja(Yatsushiro)Shinto shrine / Yatsushiro / Blessings: warding off misfortune, safe voyages
One of the three great Myoken shrines of Japan. Its Myoken festival is UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Matsui Jinja(Yatsushiro)Shinto shrine / Yatsushiro / Blessings: study and exams
It enshrines the Matsui, lords of Yatsushiro Castle. A tea house and garden survive.
Aoi Aso Romon(Hitoyoshi)Shinto shrine / National Treasure / Hitoyoshi and Kuma / Blessings: warding off misfortune
The thatched gate is a National Treasure. Yin and yang demon faces are carved beneath the eaves.
Daishinji(Hitoyoshi)Buddhist temple / Hitoyoshi and Kuma / Blessings: warding off misfortune
A temple surviving in the castle town of Hitoyoshi.
Ganjoji(Hitoyoshi)Buddhist temple / Hitoyoshi and Kuma / Blessings: rebirth and renewal
The funerary temple of the Sagara family. The graves of successive lords stand in rows.
Suwa Jinja (Amakusa)(Amakusa)Shinto shrine / Amakusa / Blessings: warding off misfortune
The tutelary shrine of Amakusa, in a land that keeps the legend of Amakusa Shiro.
Ganryu(Reihoku)Buddhist temple / Amakusa / Blessings: rebirth and renewal
A head mound survives here, where the dead of the Shimabara-Amakusa rebellion were mourned without regard to which side they fought on.
Sightseeing
Amakusa is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Breakdown: castle 2, historic townscape 1, hot spring 1, nature / scenery 6. 19 places to see in Kumamoto.
Hifuri Shinji(Aso)other / Aso
Bundles of thatch are set alight and swung about, in celebration of a marriage of the gods.
Onda Matsuri(Aso)other / Aso / Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property
A procession in white robes goes round the fields. An agricultural rite said to have run for two thousand years.
Senganzan(Kamiamakusa)industrial heritage / Amakusa / Place of Scenic Beauty
It looks down on the five Amakusa bridges.
Goshoura(Amakusa)nature / scenery / Amakusa
An island where Cretaceous fossils are found.
Yatsushiro Myokensai(Yatsushiro)festival / event / Yatsushiro / Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property / UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. The gamedaa, a creature part turtle and part snake, parades through the town.
Hitoyoshi-jo(Hitoyoshi)castle / Hitoyoshi and Kuma / Historic Site / 1199
The Sagara ruled here for 700 years. Kuma shochu holds a geographical indication.
Kumamoto-jo(Kumamoto)castle / Kumamoto / Special Historic Site / Historic Site / 1607
Stone walls in the musha-gaeshi form. Restoration continues after the 2016 earthquake.
Nabeta Yokoana(Yamaga)burial mound / archaeological site / Kumamoto / Historic Site / 6th century
Tunnel tombs carved with decoration stand in a row.
Nakadake(Aso)nature / scenery / Aso
It still gives off steam. The centre of one of the largest calderas in the world.
Suizenji Jojuen(Kumamoto)garden / park / Kumamoto / Historic Site / Place of Scenic Beauty / 1636
A stroll garden modelled on the fifty-three stations of the Tokaido. Groundwater from Aso rises here.
Tsujunkyo(Yamato)industrial heritage / Aso / National Treasure / 1854
A stone arch aqueduct built to carry water up to a waterless plateau. A National Treasure.
Yachiyoza(Yamaga)museum / theatre / Kumamoto / Important Cultural Property / 1910
A playhouse still in use. The advertisement paintings on the ceiling survive as they were.
Yamaga Toro(Yamaga)festival / event / Kumamoto / Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property
Dancers balance lanterns made only of washi and paste on their heads. They are dedicated at Omiya Jinja.
Aso(Aso)nature / scenery / Aso
Eighteen kilometres east to west, twenty-five north to south. Fifty thousand people live inside one of the largest calderas in the world.
Kurokawa Onsen(Minamioguni)hot spring / Aso
One bathing pass lets you visit three baths. The whole town was conceived as a single inn.
Amakusa(Amakusa)nature / scenery / Amakusa / UNESCO World Heritage (Cultural) / UNESCO World Heritage
The Sakitsu village is a World Cultural Heritage site. Dolphin watching is also possible here.
Kikuchi Valley(Kikuchi)nature / scenery / Kumamoto / Place of Scenic Beauty / Natural Monument
Groundwater from Aso runs through it. The water stays at 13 degrees even in summer.
Hitoyoshi(Hitoyoshi)historic townscape / Hitoyoshi and Kuma
The Sagara ruled here for 700 years. Kuma shochu holds a geographical indication.
Nabegataki Falls(Oguni)nature / scenery / Aso
You can walk behind the falls. The water comes down like a curtain.
Traditional Crafts
Four crafts hold national designation: Shodai ware, Amakusa ceramics, Yamaga lanterns, and Higo zogan inlay.
Higo zogan is the technique of driving gold or silver into an iron ground to make a pattern. It began as decoration for gun barrels and sword guards. Ornament for weapons became jewellery once the country was at peace. The same turn as the Buddhist altars of Hikone.
More: VILLAGE Journal vol.5 — Driving gold into iron
More from This Prefecture
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Sources: Kumamoto Prefecture, City of Kumamoto, City of Aso, City of Yatsushiro, City of Hitoyoshi, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries — Value Village editorial team