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Kikuchi & Yamaga area

Kikuchi & Yamaga area

About Kikuchi & Yamaga

Kikuchi 菊池市 and Yamaga 山鹿市 are located in the north eastern part of Kumamoto prefecture, around an hour’s drive from Kumamoto City. They are both agricultural areas using the flat, fertile farmland around the Kikuchi river for cultivating rice and vegetables.  Kikuchi has an ancient history as a castle town ruled for over 400 years by the powerful Kikuchi clan. Kikuchi castle dates back to the 7th century. Kikuchi is also home to some beaautiful nature including Kikuchi Gorge on the outer edge of the Aso caldera. More recently it has also become known for its beautifying onsen waters.

Yamaga is also known for its hotsprings, at Sakuranoyu onsen you can see a replica of the bath the lords of Kumamoto used to use. Yamaga is famous for its lantern festival which takes place every August. Hundreds of women dance with golden paper lanterns on their heads. Yamaga has become known for its papercrafts not just lanterns but beautiful models of architectural buildings all made with paper and a little glue. These are given as offerings at the festival and then displayed around the town. Yamaga was once an important stop off on the Bungo Kaido road and there are still several traditional buildings and stores you can visit including a beautifully restored kabuki theatre called the Yachiyosa.

Yachiyoza kabuki theatre tour

Visit Kikuchi Gorge on an Explore Kumamoto Tour

Kikuchi gorge spring

Mount Aso & Kikuchi Gorge Tour

The Mount Aso and Kikuchi Gorge Tour is for any lover of the outdoors. Two very different landscapes in just one day; the natural forest and pure waters of Kikuchi Gorge and the vast grasslands and active volcanic scenery of Mount Aso.

Japan best outside hotspring, Kumamoto best onsen, sanga onsen lotemburo

Kikuchi Gorge & Kurokawa Onsen Tour

The Kikuchi Gorge and Kurokawa Onsen Tour is an ideal day trip to enjoy two of the best things about Kyushu; its hot springs and beautiful nature. A relaxing but also energising day,

Places to visit in Kikuchi & Yamaga

Below are activities and sights you can explore in and around the Kikuchi & Yamaga area. Click on the picture links to find out more. If you are interested in visiting any of these places on a guided tour contact Explore Kumamoto for a quote.

Higanbana 彼岸花 Spider Lily Viewing

Spider lilies Kumamoto Yamaga Kyushu Japan
Higanbana 彼岸花 Spider Lily viewing After a long, hot summer the arrival of the spider lillies in mid September heralds the beginning of autumn. The tall stalks and dramatic bright red blooms seem to shoot up out of nowhere appearing around paddy fields, embankments and verges. The flowering season is …read on

Senjoukawara swimming spot 千畳河原

Senjokawara – the perfect place to stay cool in the summer Summers in Japan are hot and humid so heading to a river to splash around or take a swim is one of the best ways to cool down and stay sane. Unfortunately, though there are plenty of rivers around …read on

Ideventure – a thrilling water ride

Ideventure – take a thrilling and peaceful ride down the rice farming irrigation canals of Kikuchi. What is it? Ideventure is a great summer activity and it’s unique to Kikuchi Town, difficult to describe it is best to simply see it for yourself, take a look: The crazy idea of taking an inflatable kayak down a …read on

Kumamoto Ancient Burial Mound Museum 熊本県立装飾古墳館

ancient burial mounds
Ancient Burial Mound Museum The Kumamoto Prefectural Ancient Burial Mound museum in Yamaga celebrates the many and various decorated tumuli of Kumamoto.  A tumulus is an ancient burial mound, there are approximately 200,000 of these burial mounds scattered  over Japan all dating back from 400 to 700 AD. The era …read on

Kikuchi Castle Ruins 菊池城

The Kikuchi castle ruins are an archaeological site stretching over 150 hectares on a hillside overlooking the town of Kikuchi. The site is the location of a 1,300 year old hill fort built in the 7th century by the Yamato government to protect the country from invasion from the Korean …read on

Kikuchi Onsen 菊池温泉

The waters of Kikuchi Onsen hotspring resort are famed for their healing and beautifying properties. Surprisingly the onsen, also known as Waifu Onsen, was only discovered 60 years ago, the local myth states that a wise, old man called Mr Murakami was told the location of the hot spring by a white dragon in a dream. The …read on

Yamaga Rickshaw Ride

Yamaga rickshaw
Experience the  old town of Yamaga in the traditional way with a handpulled rickshaw ride. The 20 minute course costs 1500 Yen per person. Maximum 2 people. Yamaga Rickshaw Rides can be booked up to the day before and take place between 09:00 and 17:00 Rickshaw rides are available all year …read on

Yamaga Lantern Museum 山鹿灯籠民芸館

The Yamaga Lantern Craft Museum,  灯籠民芸館, introduces the history and culture of the traditional craft of paper lantern making. This rare and extraodinarily delicate paperwork has been passed down since ancient times and is unique to the Yamaga area. The museum is situated in the old bank just a couple …read on

Yamaga Lantern Festival

Yamaga Lantern Dance Festival – Yamaga Toro Matsuri 山鹿吐露祭 in Japanese, is held on the evenings of August 15th and 16th in the city of Yamaga every year. The highlight is the One Thousand Lantern Dance when hundreds of women, dressed in simple white summer yukata and red obi sashes dance elegantly through the night …read on

Yachiyoza Theatre

Yachiyoza kabuki theatre tour
The town of Yamaga is situated an hour’s drive north of Kumamoto City. In its heyday, over a hundred years ago, Yamaga was a prosperous, bustling agricultural town and a very lively onsen retreat. In 1910 the local merchants funded the very first kabuki theatre in Kyushu and called it the Yachiyoza (the …read on

Kikuchi Gorge

The Healing Forest Kikuchi Valley, known as Kikuchi Keikoku 菊地渓谷 in Japanese is renowned as one of Japan’s 44 ‘Shinrin Yoku’ or ‘Forest Bathing’ sites. The Japanese developed Forest bathing in the 1980s, the idea being to boost your health and well being by engaging with nature using all five senses, luxuriating …read on

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