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Travel Guide of Scenic Byways in Kyushu

Q-❾ Aso･Kumamoto Scenic Roads

Cities of Aso and Kumamoto; Towns of Kikuyou, Ozu, Minamioguni, Oguni and Takamori; Villages of

Ubuyama, MinamiAaso and Nishihara. (Kumamoto Pref.)－Aso Volcano and Caldera, Higo-

Kaido Road, and Kumamoto Castle Town－

As shown in the photo (5) on page 2, Aso Volcano is located in the

center of Kyushu, and consist of world-famous large caldera,

scenic outer ring mountain, and five central volcanic hills. It is a

representive landscape in Kyushu, and is the largest resource of

the Aso/Kumamoto Scenic Road.

Roughly speaking, this landscape area is divided into 3 blocks:

Ubuyama Village & Oguni Town, Aso Volcano Area, and

Kumamoto Castle Town.

In the Edo period, the

Bungo-kaido road linking

Kumamoto City and Oita

City was established, and

the total length was 124

km via Aso City and

Takeda City. In its heyday,

there were seven lodging

towns along the road.

Even now, the atmosphere

remains in some villages

in the mountainous area of Aso Kuju National Park, and some

heritage can be seen.

(Main Route). The main roads in this landscape area are Bungo-

kaido Road, National Route 57 and Yamanami-Highway. Among

them, Bungo-kaido Road is a historic road, but now it has been

improved and replaced by National Route 57. Therefore, these two

old and new routes overlap or are parallel in several sections.

(2) A cobble stone road in Ubuyam Village that remains as it was, and echinops setifer at Higotai-Park

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N

(7)(6)

(5)

⑷

(3)

(1)

(2)

Ariake Sea

New Port of Kumamoto

Bungo (Higo) Kaido ( )

Pasture

Nishihara

Aso

Oguni

MinamiOguni

Ubuyama

Kikuyo

Takamori

Kuju-Renzan

(Kokonoe)

Mt.Aso

NakaDake

Aso sky line

Shimouke Dam

Matubara Dam

Kometsuka

Kusasenrigahama

Shirakawawater spring

Oogi Tanada

(Takeda)

MinamiAso

Daikanbo

EzuKo Lake

Stone road of pass(Sakainomatsu slope,Benten slope)

Kumamoto Castle

Avenue of cedar

Bungo Kaido

298

111

crater

337

Prefectural Road

Natinal Park Resort

Kikuchi Vallay

Masuki (Takatiho)

(Yamaga)

(Yufu)

Mt.Aso

Daikanbo

Prefectural border

(6)Oguni town

(5)Daikanbou

(4)Aso shrine

(3)Mt.Aso

(1)Kumamoto Castle

16km

13km

18km

City Kumamoto, Aso

Town Kikuyo,Ozu,Minamioguni,Oguni,Takamori

Village

Interntional access traffic to Amakusa

from Tokyo(Haneda, Narita),

Kumamoto st

Length of main route about 76km

Further informationConvention and Toulism Beurau

Ubuyama,Minamiaso,Nishihara

Tel +81-96-359-1788 Fax +81-96-359-8520

Airport Kumamoto

Chubu,Kansai, Naha

Kaohsiung, Incheon, Hong Kong

Railway High-speed Kumamoto st.

Kumamoto international

Conventional

(JR Kagoshima main line)Kumamoto~Aso(JR Houhi line)

KumamotoMt.Kinpo

Jyojuen

Kumamoto IC

Ueki IC

Masuki & Airport IC

Entrance of main roads

(3),(4

),(5),(6

)

Tateno

Isshingyou

Tateno◎

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Ozu

Musashituka

Ubuyama village

28㎞

18㎞

（Tateno)

(2)Minamiaso

20km

7km

29km

FutaeMatoish

SakanashiTakimuro Slope

1２

Utinomaki

Kurokawa

Q-❾ Aso/Kumamoto Roads

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Yamanami-Highway is Prefectural Road

11 built in 1964 as a tourist road, a part of

which is a scenic route (blue thick line in the

figure). However, since this area is adjacent

to the scenic route (Q-❽) of "Yamanami

Highland Parkway", many travelers set up

and utilize their own courses regardless of

the route designation.

When using public transportation, there

are express buses and sightseeing buses

bound for Aso that start from Kumamoto

City, or the Hōhi Line between Kumamoto

and Aso.

(Access). The base of access to the

"Aso/Kumamoto Scenic Route" is

Kumamoto Airport. There are 6 courses

between Kumamoto Airport and major

domestic airports, as well as flights to

Amakusa Airport. In addition, there are

three international routes to Kaohsiung,

Incheon and Hong Kong.

On the other hand, Kumamoto Station is

located in Kumamoto City, and it takes about

an hour to get to Hakata Station, Fukuoka

Airport and Kagoshima Central Station.

Kumamoto Station is connected not only to

the Kyushu Shinkansen, but also to the

Kagoshima Main Line, Hōhi Line, and

Misumi Line, and also to high-speed buses

and long-distance buses. For these facts,

Fukuoka Airport and Kumamoto Station are

also access points to this scenic route.

(Regional Resources). The main resources

of the scenic route area are the Aso Volcano,

the historical site of Higo-Kaido, and

Kumamoto Castle Town.

a) Aso Volcano.

Aso volcano has a caldera diameter of 18 km from east to west,

25 km from south to north, and the outer ring length is 128 km.

The volcanic crater zone consists of four huge eruptions that

occurred between 47,000 and 40,000 years ago, with pyroclastic

flow deposits spreading to the outer of ring area.

The volcano in the center of the caldera consists of five

mountains lined up almost linearly from east to west, with an

altitude of 1000-1600 m. Volcanic smoke is rising from Nakadake

crater. These volcanic areas are

registered as “Aso / Kuju National

Park” and the world's Geoparks.

b) Bungo-Kaido Road.

In the 17th century, the Bungo

kaido road from Kumamoto to

Oita was built for “Sankin-kotai”

which is a system that requires

Daimyo to go to Edo spend every

other year. Kumamoto’s lord and

his servants walked the Bungo-

kaido, and from Oita by boat to

Osaka Port, and walked again the

Tokaido route.

Bungo-kaido Road of 124km had many post-inn towns such as

Otsu and Uchinomaki. And trees were planted every 4 km to

mark distance. The biggest difficulty of Bungo-kaido is the steep

slope of the outer ring mountains. When it rained, the road

surface was muddy and difficult to walk. Because of it, some parts

such as ridges and steep slopes were paved with stones.

Walking along the cobbled Bungo-kaido, you can see the ruins

of stone bridges and drainage canals, and visit the old town

remains, and remember the past. (See the phot (2) and (4)).

c) Kumamoto Castle and its Town.

If you look carefully at the outer ring

of the caldera, you can see that the

outer ring mountain is missing in the

Tateno area (west side). This is

because the Shirakawa River breaks

through the outer ring mountain and

flows toward the Ariake Sea. Taking

advantage of this topography,

National Route 57 runs parallel to

the Shirakawa River and leads to

Kumamoto Castle in Kumamoto City.

After passing Oozu-cho Town on the

way, it is divided into a bypass and

(7)Urban area of Kumamoto City and Kumamoto Castle

Fukuoka

Saga

Nagasaki

Oita

Miyazaki

Kagoshima

Kumamoto

Prefectural CapitalActive volcano

Border between prefectures

Note

N

Current Crater in Nakadake of Aso

Rural landscape spreading to the caldera and 5 volcanos in the Central crater hill.

Aso Volcano located in the central part of Kyushu Main Island.

Aso Volcano

(5) Aso Volcano in the Aso area of Kumamoto Prefecture.

(1) Kurokawa Spa which is one of the most popular nationwide. (Minami Oguni Town).

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Prefectural Road 377, the latter taking over the old road.

The left bank of Shirakawa River is flat and the right site is a

hilly area. Therefore, Kumamoto Castle was built on the hill of the

right bank. The old castle was built in the Middle Ages, but was

replaced by a large castle in the 17th century.

In particular, Kiyomasa Kato, the first castle lord of the Edo

period, was a warlord who experienced many wars during the

warring States era. Therefore, Kumamoto Castle was built with

special attention to defense. There were many innovations, such

as high arched stone walls, complex alleys, key-shaped crossroads,

squares to gather soldiers, and the arrangements of temples.

Certainly, the Satsuma rebellion at the end of 19th century failed

to occupy the castle even though many buildings were on fire. This

is said to be because the entire town of Kumamoto was a fortress

city.

(1) Healing area of Oguni & Minamioguni

Oguni & Minami-oguni Area is a healing place surrounded by

lush forests and is the source of Chikugo River, the largest river

in Kyushu. If going to Oguni town along National Route 442 and

387, you can soothe your body in rustic hot springs in many places.

There are two dams in the area, Shimouke Dam and Matsubara

Dam, but there has been strong opposition from local residents in

the construction for a long time. As a result, it had a significant

impact on the development of social capital in our country.

On the north side of Aso Volcano, Minami-Oguni Town extends

to the outer rim, and production of highland vegetables, livestock

and forestry is thriving. In addition, there are many famous

Japanese style hot springs such as Kurokawa Onsen along the

stream. The Senomoto Kogen Plateau, at an altitude of about

900m, is particularly beautiful and vast, even among the Kuju

mountain range, with its autumn leaves and the ear of Susuki

(Japanese pampas grass).

(2) Ubu-yama Village

Ubuyama Village is a typical mountain village sandwiched

between Yamanami-highway and Bungo-kaido Road. The village

extends to the rich natural plateau on the outer rim of Aso Volcano,

so you can enjoy slow driving and trekking under the wind of the

plateau.

The main interests are the old cobblestone road a little away

from Bungo-kaido Road, the spectacular view of the concrete arch

bridge (Higotai Bridge, 200m) above the dam lake, and the truss

bridge with wooden roof. At the end of summer, a rare ball-shaped

flower, which is designated as a village flower, is in full bloom (see

Photo (2)). Or, during a break, you can eat delicious river fish

dishes called Yamame (brook trout).

(3) & (4) Zone of Aso Shrine, and Daikanbou on outer rim.

When returning to National Route 57 from the Ubu-yama

Village, and getting off the altitude difference of 200m, you arrive

at steep Takimuro-saka Slope on Bungo-kaido Road. Then, you

can find the intersection of Sakanashi’s post-inn town and Hyuga

Kaido Road. In the past, many people and things went in and out,

and many shops were lined up. If visiting there, you can find

buildings, stone bridges and other ruins, as well as the townscape

of the time.

Going to the center of Aso City, you will find the Aso Shrine

related to the Aso clan who ruled the Aso area in the Middle Ages.

Aso Shrine is the headquarter of 450 branch shrines, and the

famous fire festival (national intangible folk cultural asset) is held

every year in February to pray for rich harvest. From the shrine,

taking National Route 57 to the west for a few kilometers, you will

find the roadside station “Aso” and the Aso Station of JR Hohi

Line. They are the relay points for climbing Aso Volcano where

many tourists stop by.

Furtheremore, passing Uchinomaki Spa and climbing the north

side of the outer ring from Aso Shrine, you reach Daikanbo

Observatory. From there, you can see the panorama of the huge

caldera and Go-gaku (five volcanos). In order to pass through the

pastureland, the sections of prefectural roads No.45, 12, and 339

are called milk roads, but they go around the outer ring of caldera.

On the other hand, there is Prefectural Road 149 at the foot of

the outer ring from Uchimaki Onsen to the Akamizu area. Going

(3) “Daikanbo” in Outer Rim (Mount for observatory, 936m in altitude)

(4) Aso Jinja Shrine and the Parade of Shinto Ritual. (Aso City, Kumamoto).

(4) Trace of Matoishi’s tea house (4) Stone Road at Futae Peak on Bungo Kaido (6) Shirakawa’s water spring

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there, there is an old “Matoishi Ochaya” for Daimyo, and if you

climb the outer ring, you will arrive at the Futae Pass and join the

Milk Road.

(5) District of Aso volcano.

Aso consists of five volcanoes. As shown in the photo, steam

smokes from the crater in the western part of Mt.Nakadake, and

sometimes there is a big explosion.

As shown on the map, if taking prefectural roads of No.111 and

292, you can go from the national route to the crater.

In other words, the crater has three approaching roads, all of

which are connected to the ropeway on the way. The surrounding

area also offers a charming view of old crater meadows and a

small hill of the well-shaped scoria cone (Komezuka).

(6) Region of Minami-Aso Village and Takamori Town.

This area is on the south side of Mt.Aso along the outer edge of

the caldera. You can also go to Minami-Aso Village and Takamori

Town on National Routes No.57 and 325.

The main attraction in this area is a clean fountain, trekking on

the outer ring of the caldera, and a wonderful view of Aso Volcano.

In particular, the water source of Shirakawa River is one of 100

carefully selected waters in Japan, and the nearby fountain park

was realized by the suspension of construction of a railway tunnel

with a large amount of spring water. There are 32 tons of spring

water every minute, and the unique park is based on it.

In addition, the magnificent morning mist flowing through the

bottom of the caldera will be an unforgettable memory for all

visitors.

(7) Kumamoto Castle and its town.

The main route from Mt.Aso to Kumamoto Castle Town is the

old route of National Route 57. The section between Futae Pass

and Otsu Town was called Otsu Kaido. In the Edo period, cedar

trees were planted along the road, cobblestone roads were created,

and trees showing distance were planted.

In Kumamoto Castle Town, three famous great persons

appeared from the Edo period to the Meiji period. Everyone is

known nationwide, but one of them is Kiyomasa Kato, who was

the first castle lord of the Edo period. With his skill, Kumamoto

Castle was built, and various social infrastructure was prepared,

including river renovation in the Kumamoto area, improvement

of the Bungo-kaido Road, and the construction of landfills.

The most famous swordsmen in Japan is Musashi Miyamoto,

who was invited to Kumamoto by Hosokawa’s Clan after a duel

on Ganryu-jima Island in Shimonoseki City (1612), and spent the

rest of his life. He stayed at the Reigan cave and wrote “Book of

Five Rings” (1643-45) to teach his swordsmanship.

Another wonderful person is Soseki Natsume. He came to

Kumamoto as a professor at Fifth High School (present

Kumamoto University). Soseki spent several years in Kumamoto,

but traveled many areas in Fukuoka and Kumamoto. Based on

that experience, he made many Haiku (Japanese style of Poem).

Afterwards, he turned into a writer and wrote many famous

novels such as“Kusamakura” (The Three-Cornered World),

“Botchan” (young son), and “Wagahai ha Neko dearu.” (I am a

Cat), of which English versions are also published.

The landscape resources of this area are given by the footprints

of three great men. For example, Kumamoto Castle, Musashizuka

Park, Reigan Cave related to Musashi, and hiking courses of

Soseki's works are recommended, but Kumamoto Castle is the

most representative.

Musashi Miyamoto of skilled swordsman (1584~1645)

Soseki Natsume of the great novelist (1816~1916).

Kiyomasa Kato who built Kumamoto castle (1562~1611)

(7) Three greats who made nationally famous Kumamoto.

(7) “Reigan” Cave that Mushashi Miyamoto wrote the Gorinnosho (Military Manual for Kendo))

(5) Senrigahama Prairie of old Crater. (7) Ozu Kaido (Kikuchi City). (7) Suizenji Park of Japanese style (Kumamoto City).

Publishing and Copy right：Promotion Conference of Kyushu

Scenic Byways ○C (Copy right 2019. All rights reserved).