Cruise Diary - Port Visit: Yatsushiro
Yatsushiro Port is located on the western coast of central Kyushu, one of Japan's main islands. The port has always been an important center for international trade, such as the distribution of agriculture, forestry, and marine products.
Presently, this Port is one of the largest port in Kumamoto Prefecture. Besides handling cargo vessels, Yatsushiro port also caters to cruise ships and their passengers.
Yatsushiro Port
At Yatsushiro Port, a small park has lots of Kumamon on displays. The park is great place for photo shoots with cute Kumamon.
From Yatsushiro Port to Shin-Yatsushiro Station
It is not possible to walk from Yatsushiro Port to Shin-Yatsushiro Station. Taking a taxi from the port to the station is a good option.
For cruise passengers, the cruise company will typically arrange chartered buses to ferry passengers between the port and train station. However, this is dependent on the policies of each cruse company and may change from time to time. If you are a cruise passenger, you may wish to check with the cruise company or your travel agent at the time of booking your cruise. If you are already onboard the cruise ship, a short trip to the Customer Service counter to enquire about the arrangements is advisable.
Kumamoto Station
At Kumamoto Station, visitors can conveniently board buses to Kumamoto Castle. Signs in both Japanese and English are widely and prominently displayed at the bus stands in front of the Station. The bus ride from the Station to Kumamoto Castle takes about 15 to 20 minus depending on traffic conditions. Alighting at the bus stop at Kumamoto Castle, it is just a short walk up a gentle slope to purchase tickets for your entry to the castle itself.
It is also possible to walk from the Station to the Castle. Depending on your walking speed, and your ability not to get lost along the way, the walk should take about 30 to 45 minutes.
Around Kumamoto Station
There is a large mall just next to Kumamoto Station. The mall is large and very spacious. Lots of shopping and dining options can be found within the mall. There is also a large supermarket here.
Kumamoto Castle
The sprawling castle grounds is relatively large and there are elevated constructs for tourists to walk to the Castle Keep. Note that these constructs are modern day contraptions to both ease the movement of visitors and also probably to preserve parts of the actual castle grounds or structures.
Inside the castle keep, most of the original structures and walls were not visible during my visit in August 2023. 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.
These wooden boards and materials were beautifully placed and included much information on the history of the Castle. However, they make the whole Castle Keep interior seem like a modern day museum, at least to me.
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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