Post-Trip Recollections - Kumamon's Hometown
I visited the city of Kumamoto for the first time in August 2023 as part of a port visit by the cruise ship I was sailing on, Royal Caribbean's Spectrum of the Seas. The cruise's itinerary was to take passengers from Yokohama to Singapore, sailing in a south, south-easterly direction, whilst visiting some ports along the way. The original port visits in the southern parts of Japan were Shimizu and Osaka. But these 2 port visits were cancelled due to inclement weather because of a nearby typhoon. It was summer in Japan in August and the typhoon season was in town, literally and figuratively. The cruise company subsequently decided to add Kumamoto as a port visit to the itinerary to compensate for the lost of the the 2 cancelled port visits.
Weather conditions are part of the forces of nature and I appreciated the cruise company's decision making discretion to ensure that all passengers had a safe and enjoyable trip. Thus, I was not upset at the lost of 2 port visits. Moreover, an unexpected visit to Kumamoto, home of Kumamon, was an exciting occasion, for me at least. Until then, I had never before visited Kumamoto, both the city and prefecture.
Arrival at Yatsushiro Port and Dismebarkation
We arrived at Kumamoto in the morning of a bright August morning. Joining most of the passengers, we got off the ship and queued for chartered buses to take us to Shin-Yatsushiro Station. Here, we took a direct train to Kumamoto Station, right at the heart of the city. For the short daytime port visit, my personal targets were simple. To visit Kumamoto Castle and the city areas around the Kumamoto Station.
Alighting at Kumamoto Station, we switched transport mode to a bus that took us almost to the doorsteps of Kumamoto Castle. A short walk up a gentle slope and we were in the queue to purchase tickets for our entry to the castle itself.
Kumamoto Castle
The sprawling castle grounds is relatively large and there were elevated constructs for tourists to walk to the Castle Keep. Note that these constructs were modern day contraptions to both ease the movement of visitors and also probably to preserve parts of the actual castle grounds or structures. At least, that's what I thought! But I could be wrong.
During the walk to the Castle Keep, I noticed that some parts of the exterior structures of the castle that were damaged in a major earthquake in 2016, were still being carefully and painstakingly restored.
Inside the castle keep, most of the original structures and walls were not visible. Instead, wooden boards and other materials such as plastic sheets were used to separate visitors from the original structures and walls. These measures were probably needed to preserve the fragile structures that were still being restored due to the 2016 earthquake. Again, I could be wrong on this point.
While these wooden boards and materials were beautifully placed and included much information on the history of the Castle, they make the whole Castle Keep interior seem like a modern day museum to me. Unlike Himeji Castle which I visited in 2018, walking through the interior of Kumamoto Castle's Keep did not make me feel like walking through a centuries old Castle. The feelings were just different and I must say, this was quite a disappointment for me. Despite that, I still count the visit as a personal Travel Bucket List item checked! It has to be, I was indeed walking through the interior of the Castle Keep of Kumamoto Castle. Nothing can change that fact, wooden boards and plastic coverings included.
Kumamoto City, next to Kumamoto Station
After my visit to Kumamoto Castle, we took a bus back to the city area around Kumamoto Station. There is a large mall just next to the Station. I headed to the mall to buy some socks and underwear. After almost a month on my trip, I had ran out of socks and underwear and urgently needed some new pairs. We had lunch at a nice sushi restaurant, those conveyor belt kind. The food was really good and the seafood so fresh, we could almost taste the sea, no pun intended. To emphasise again, the seafood was really really fresh. One of the best that I had personally eaten. To top this, we were not exactly dining at a 5-star establishment, just a normal sushi restaurant that locals frequent.
After lunch, we walked around the mall a little more, buying some delicious confectioneries and fruits before taking the train from Kumamoto Station back to Shin-Yatsushiro Station where chartered buses wait to ferry us back to Yatsushiro Port.
Yatsushiro Port
At Yatsushiro Port, a small park has lots of Kumamon on displays. Many cruise passengers, ourselves included, milled around the park for photo shoots with the cute Kumamon. Around 5pm, it was time to board the cruise ship for our onward journey to Kagoshima, our last stop in Japan before the cruise ship leaves Japan.
Tips and Advices
At Shin-Yatsushiro Station, there are two ways to get to Kumamoto Station. Local train or Shinkansen (a.k.a. Bullet Train). The cost for the Shinkansen is almost twice that of the Local Train. My advice is to just take the Local Train. After factoring in the waiting time for both types of train, you will not actually gain much time taking the Shinkansen over the Local Train. This is unless, you arrive at Shin-Yatsushiro Station at the same time as the arrival of the Shinkansen. The main reason being that the frequency of the Local Train is higher than that of the Shinkansen.
It is not necessary to use guided tours to visit Kumamoto Castle. The bus from Kumamoto Station to Kumamoto Castle is direct and stops near to the entrance to the castle park. Signs are everywhere in both Japanese and English so it is difficult to miss the stop. When in doubt, just follow the horde of tourists alighting! Almost every tourist on the bus is headed for Kumamoto Castle!
Credit cards are widely accepted, including the purchase of entrance tickets to Kumamoto Castle.
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