Kurokawa Onsen & Mount Aso Tour

• Enjoy a relaxing outdoor hot spring bath in the charmingly traditional village of Kurokawa Onsen. Choose from a private bath, a public bath, a mixed sex bath or even just a foot bath.
• Guided Kurokawa walk & free time to explore the village
• Daikanbo Viewpoint  – a gorgeous panoramic viewpoint on the edge of the Aso caldera.
• See Komezuka – Mount Aso’s youngest and definitely cutest volcano.
• Plenty of photo stops for scenic views of Mount Aso 
•  Free time at the Kusasenri plateau on top of Mount Aso; take a hike, visit the Volcano museum, grab an ice cream or just take in the volcano and caldera views
• If conditions are safe stand on the edge of the active Nakadake volcano and see the steaming crater below
• Small group tour with dedicated transport
• Highly rated, friendly and informative English speaking guide.
• Trained Aso Global Geo Park Guide 

Kurokawa Onsen & Mount Aso Tour Itinerary:

Timings are approximate and the schedule and itinerary order may change according to the weather and time constraints. Depending on the season it may also include seasonal specialities such as cherry blossom viewing etc.

*It is possible to customise the tour schedule if you request a private tour or are the only participants, there may be extra charges for this. Contact us to find out more.

09:00 Meet up with your guide in front of Higo Ozu Station (you can take the 08:15 train from Kumamoto City to Higo Ozu station)

We take a scenic 45 minute drive along the Milk Road around the edge of the Aso caldera up to Daikanbo, the highest point on the northern caldera rim.

09:40 Daikanbo Viewpoint – Take a relaxing walk to the tip of this peninsula which sticks out of the caldera edge. Daikanbo is the highest point on the northern caldera edge and from here you can see panoramic views of the Aso caldera below, the caldera rim and smoking volcano of Mount Aso in the distance and if you are very, very lucky you may even get to see the ‘Unkai –  Sea of Cloud’ when the caldera fills with cloud and the mountains appear to float above it.

10:40 Kurokawa Onsen  Village Enjoy a stroll around the village with your guide who will point out some of the different hot springs and speciality shops and tell you about Kurokawa’s interesting origins.

11:40 Arrive in Kurokawa Onsen. Your guide will give you an information leaflet about the different baths in the car so you can choose a hot spring you would like to visit, some of the baths are outside the village and your guide will be happy to drive you and pick you up after. If you are not sure where to go your guide will be happy to advise you. There are also foot baths if you prefer, if you don’t want a bath that’s fine too.

12:15 Free time to look around some more, and then have lunch either in the village or a nearby restaurant

13:45 Head to Mount Aso, on the way we make a quick stop at an intriguing local spot.

14:30 On the way to the top of Mount Aso we will stop for scenic views of the mountain and caldera scenery, say hello to some of cows and horses grazing the mountain side and take a look at Komezuka – the rice bowl hill; a perfectly formed mini volcano only a couple of thousand years old.

15:15 We head to the Nakadake Crater – Mount Aso’s active volcano, just a couple of km drive from Kusasenri- if the active volcano is at Level 1 and the crater area is open* you will be able to look into the active volcano’s craters and walk around the crater area and the Sunasenri plateau – a surreal lunar landscape made of volcanic ash and rocks deposited by the volcano. 

*If the crater area is closed we will have more time to enjoy Kusasenri.

16:00 On top of Mount Aso there is a vast plateau called Kusasenri – this is the remains of a kilometer wide volcanic crater active 27,000 years ago. Nowadays it’s a beautiful grassland surrounded by volcanic peaks offering impressive views of the active volcano. Here you have free time to explore; take a walk around the different viewing platforms, visit the Mount Aso visitor center or Aso Volcano Museum. Visit a cafe, try an Aso gelato or do a little souvenir shopping. From spring to late autumn horse riding is also possible. Around 16:30 the horses finish work for the day and you can see them roaming free around the grasslands. 

16:50 Drive back to Higo Ozu Station

17:30 Arrive back at Higo Ozu Station

Trains back to Kumamoto City run approximately every 20 minutes

Depending on the weather forecast the itinerary may take place the opposite way round to ensure we can get the best views possible at Mount Aso.

Kurokawa Onsen & Mt Aso tour details

Meeting Point: The tour begins and ends from Higo Ozu Station, a 35 to 40 minute train ride from Kumamoto City. However, it may also be possible to arrange a pick up from your hotel if you are staying in the Aso area. Please contact us with your hotel details to find out more.

Tour duration: 09:00 to 17:30 (8.5 hours)

No. of guests: Minimum 1 person, maximum 6.

We can cater up to 9 people in a group but there will be an extra charge for a rental vehicle

Activity level: Gentle, the tour involves some walking but at your own pace and you can choose how much or little you do.

Tour Inclusions: English guide fees, transport, parking fees, entrance to one public hot spring bath*

*If you would like a private bath please pay the extra cost on the day (aprox 500 to 1000 Yen depending on the bath you select). If you don’t want a bath, footbaths are available or you can just have more free time to explore the village.

Tour Exclusions:

Lunch is not included as standard, there are several restaurants covering a range of budgets in Kurokawa Village, if you would like to bring a packed lunch that’s fine too. Please notify us of any special dietary preferences when booking so we can advise you where to eat.

Towels are not included, please bring your own or you can buy a small towel for a couple of hundred Yen at the hot springs.

Weather: Depending on the weather forecast the itinerary may take place the opposite way round to ensure we can get the best views possible.  The Mount Aso area can become very foggy at times, in this case we may change the schedule to avoid the mountainous areas. If the forecast is for heavy rain all day we will either offer you the chance to cancel or to change to a different tour itinerary such as a full day Kurokawa Onsen itinerary.

Visiting the volcano: The Nakadake volcano is always active even when it is at Level 1 (its lowest level) this means that it usually releases volcanic gases. The crater area is monitored very closely and if the wind is in the wrong direction and gas concentrations are too high the crater area will be temporarily closed. If you have a heart condition or asthma please tell us when making a booking so we can make sure of your safety.

If it is not possible to visit the active crater we will either visit an extra place or have more time at other locations.

Drop off: The drop off is at Higo Ozu station around 17:30. Trains back to Kumamoto City run approximately every 20 minutes.

 A drop off in the Aso or Kurokawa Onsen area may also be possible with advance booking. Please contact us with your hotel details to find out.

Kurokawa Onsen and Mt Aso Tour Pricing                                           

1 person –          35,000 Yen                                        

2 to 3 people –  17,000 Yen per person                     

4 to 6 people – 16,000 Yen per person

These prices refer to the total number of people on a tour. So if you book a tour for 1 person and no-one else joins then your price is 35,000 yen, if 2 more people join then your price is 17,000 Yen per person etc.                                         

Private & Customised tours are available – contact us for details   

Family discounts available. (Please contact us with your children’s ages to find out more)

All tours are paid for in cash on the day, no deposit is required.

Kurokawa Onsen and Mt Aso tour background:

Kurokawa Onsen is a charmingly traditional village nestled in a wooded valley at the base of the Kuju Mountain range, it’s home to over 25 exclusive hot spring ryokan hotels each offering ‘lotenburo’ – outdoor hotsprings for their guests or day visitors. 

There is a great range of baths with different settings, features, views and sizes to choose from. The hot spring baths also vary with the mineral content of the waters, some are said to be beautifying and moisturising, while others are beneficial for a range of ailments from arthritis, to skin conditions, insomnia and anaemia, all are very relaxing!

 Baths are usually single sex but there are mixed sex options and reasonably priced private baths are available as well.

The village is beautiful in every season as the hotspring owners work hard to create a very relaxing natural environment and it’s a lovely place to explore with small shops and cafes, seasonal foliage and flowers.

 Mount Aso is Japan’s largest active volcano; a mountain range reaching heights of 1592m in the centre of one of Japan’s biggest caldera. The Aso area is a Unesco global Geo park and  one of the country’s biggest and most beautiful grassland areas providing grazing for cattle and horses. The caldera is over 100 km around the edge and views from the edge of the caldera rim looking onto Mount Aso are breathtaking. The Nakadake volcano in the centre of Mount Aso is the only active volcano in Japan that you can visit up close and when conditions are safe look right inside the active crater.

The Aso region is definitely one of the ‘must see’ sights if you are visiting Japan’s southern island of Kyushu. Mount Aso is the largest inhabited volcanic caldera in the world and Japan’s largest active volcanic region. (When a volcanic crater is more than 2 km wide it is called a caldera, the Aso caldera is 25 km wide.) In the center of the caldera a chain of  volcanic mountains runs east to west. In the center of these mountains is the Nakadake Volcano, currently Mount Aso’s only active volcano. It is Japan’s second most active volcano and a very rare one as when conditions are safe you can go right up to the edge of the crater.  The volcano has been worshipped as a powerful shinto deity for thousands of years. Inside the crater you may be able to see a beautiful steaming turquoise lake. 

Aso is also Japan’s largest grassland area making a unique and very beautiful landscape which changes every season. Japan is generally a land of forested mountains so the mountain grasslands of Aso offer views rarely found in the rest of the country. The lush susuki grass provides grazing for horses and the local Akaushi beef cattle.  The grasslands are burnt every February and by late spring the new growth is a lush, vibrant green. By summer the grass has grown tall, silver seed heads form in the autumn and then turn golden over the winter. The grasslands also reveal the rollling contours of ancient pyroclastic flows deposited by volcanic activity over hundreds of thousands of years. 

If you are interested in learning more about the Aso area take a look at the Aso section in Places to visit.