Kumamoto Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
Recommended by 100% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Kumamoto, Japan
- 6 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
What's Included
- Licensed Local English Speaking Guide
- Customizable Tour of your choice of 3-4 sites from 'What to expect' list
- Meet up with guide on foot within designated area of Kumamoto city
- Transportation fees, Entrance fees, Lunch, and Other personal expenses
- Private transportation
- This tour does not allow for pick up at the Yatsuhiro Port.
- You cannot combine multiple tour groups.
- Guide Entry fees are only covered for sights listed under What to Expect.
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Pickup details
This tour does not allow for pick up at the Yatsuhiro Port. This private tour is a walking day tour. A private vehicle is not included. Public transportation or local taxis maybe used to transfer between sites. Exact transportation costs can be discussed with the guide after a reservation is finalized. Please have Japanese Yen on hand for your transportation costs. If you wish to arrange for a private vehicle, please contact us directly. All Private vehicles must be booked 5 days in advance. Maximum number of passengers: 7.
Itinerary
1
Kumamoto Castle
1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included
2
Suizenji Jojuen Garden
1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included
3
Former Hosokawa Mansion
1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included
4
Lafcadio Hearn House
1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included
5
Sakuranobaba Josaien Tourist Information Center
1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included
6
Shimotori Shotengai
1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included
7
Contemporary Art Museum Kumamoto
1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included
8
Hanaokayama Park
1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included
9
Soseki Natsume Uchitsuboi Old House
1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included
10
Kumamoto Prefectual Traditional Crafts Center
1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included
11
Shimada Museum of Arts
1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Stroller accessible
- Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- This is a walking tour. Pick up is on foot. No Private Vehicle is included.
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.9
based on 21 reviews
Lori_T, Nov 2024
Mieko was such a wonderful guide! She took our interests into consideration and showed us a special Shinto temple and let us drink from the "long life" spring. She also explained how to do a Shinto prayer and took us for a walk where the gods lived. We had lunch at the perfect place--we wanted to eat good seafood--the seafood was fresh and the service fast and friendly. The fresh grilled scallops were the best I've tasted. Also, we got to try horse sashimi which is a specialty of Fukuoka I think. It was very good. We also toured Kumamoto Castle and the surrounding areas. We ended the tour at a restaurant that served the Kumamoto Wagyu special beef--from black cows! I'd highly recommend having Mieko guide you!
Response from Host, Dec 2024
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your excellent review. Your choice to visit Fujisaki Hachiman Shrine was excellent. Not many tourists go there, but it is a real shrine loved by the locals. You boldly tried the Kumamoto specialties, raw horse meat, at the izakaya style lunch and enjoyed the shochu associated with your family name. I am happy to hear that you also enjoyed red beef dinner after the tour. Thank you very much for coming to Kumamoto!
Mieko
betsy_b, Oct 2024
Jun was an excellent guide. Very well prepared. Showed us a lot and was excellent at explaining things. We had an excellent day with him
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Thank you for your complimentary comment.
We do not have much time but I want all of you not only to see sightseeing spots but to know the history and culture.
So I prepared the data and figures to understand the background.
I hope all of you enjoyed the tour and loved Kumamoto.
Thank you for visiting Kumamoto.
Jun
Kris_F, Aug 2024
My family had the most wonderful time in Kumamoto with our special guide, Mieko. She knows he city inside and out as she guided us through castles, markets, museums and beautiful parks.
Mieko was so easy to understand and at every moment was finding some fun and informative piece of information to share with us about Kumamoto.
She is a guide you must have if you are to ever visit.
Response from Host, Aug 2024
What a nice compliment you wrote!
You are an enviably close family. Your beautiful daughters loved animals and happily fed the carp and turtles at Suizenji Garden Park.
Their gentle gazes on the animals made me happy. It seemed like the three white snapping turtles had shown up to meet the happy family.
I wish your family many more blessing!
Mieko
GylM, Jun 2024
Our guide Jun-san was fantastic. He adjusted the tour to our interests, brought us to a really fun activity (Zogan workshop) and helped tremendously with recommendations and travel arrangements, even after the day of the tour. Communication by email was fast and clear. Even riding the trams like a local was an enjoyable part of the day. A great experience in Kumamoto.
Response from Host, Jun 2024
Thank you for your compliment. I am glad that all of you enjoyed the trip and hope that you loved Kumamoto. Kumamoto has not only historical places but beautiful places. I just want you to enjoy these places. Before the tour, I was able to know your preference and interests by email. To my surprise, you can read and write Japanese. In addition, you know a lot of Japanese history. So, during the tour, I took it consideration. Zogan workshop is not so popular but I thought it would be a good memory and souvenir for your family. Inlaying is difficult but fun. I also enjoyed the trip very much. It was an exciting experience for me too.
Jun
Lance_T, Apr 2024
Mieko was a blessing to have on our visit to Kumamoto! She was very flexible and allowed us to customize the tour to our interests. Once we settled on an agenda for the day, our party of 6 embarked on a wonderful, adventurous, fun filled day! We started off by visiting Foodpal Kumamoto, an out of the city venue that we had discovered through researching things to do in Kumamoto. Although the venue was partially closed, we were able visit several specialty shops and met the gracious owner of Hashimoto Shoyu! Mrs. Hashimoto even went out of the way to escort us from her shoyu factory to main market place, giving us a tour of the area and sharing the history of her 5 generation family business. What a treat to have met her and experience such hospitality from her! Our next stop was lunch at a grilling izakaya that Mieko found within walking distance of Kumamoto Castle. This was a special request that we put on her and she came through with flying colors! We loved grilling experiences on recent trips to Niigata and Hachinohe. For lunch we feasted on the freshest seafood harvested from Kumamoto's waters, abalone, oysters, scallops, hokkigai clams, snow crab and jumbo tiger prawns! To top it off, Mieko suggested we try a taste of the special Kumamoto horsemeat sashimi and ordered us a platter to sample, which we tried with apprehension and found it to be a little chewy but nicely flavored, dipped in shoyu with green onion and grated ginger topping. After lunch we headed to Kumamoto Castle to walk off the feast. All I can say is that Mieko is an expert at navigating the Castle through heavy tourist traffic and providing expert commentary and historical information on the Lords and families that occupied the castle during the edo period. Especially drawing my attention was her familiarity and talking points on Miyamoto Musashi, Lord Hosokawa, Lady Gracia, Saigo Takamori and the other Daimyo lords under the shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu! After sweeping through the Castle, we had enough time to visit the Sakuranobaba, shopping area right outside the castle. There we were able to do some sake tasting at a liquor shop and browse through the shopping area before heading back to our hotel. Mieko gave us a full day of fun and adventure that we would not have been able to experience on our own! We have made a lifelong friend and will be sure to refer our friends and family to Mieko when they visit Kumamoto!
Response from Host, Apr 2024
I am so glad that you kindly wrote a really heartwarming review. From the moment I met you all at the hotel, I immediately felt as if I were spending time with my brothers and sisters. You have developed a friendship that has lasted for more than 50 years, and you all looked so happy. The sincere smiles on everyone's faces made me feel really happy. I really liked the positive attitude of everyone who was looking for something positive to look forward to. At Hashimoto Soy Sauce Shop, the president seemed very happy to see everyone's spirit. It was a day that made me really happy as well. Thank you very much.
Mieko
Martin_B, Apr 2024
Mieko was a great guide - she contacted me days before already to talk through the itinerary, was providing good suggestions and did fully accommodate our preferences. She was a great guide during the day as well giving lots of background and information for our tour around Mt. Aso and helped us finding the OnePiece Kumamoto Project statues and the shops to buy the memorabilia figures.
Response from Host, Apr 2024
Thank you for your compliments. As for One Piece, I learned a lot from your daughter. Thank you very much.
Although the cherry blossoms in Aso were not in full bloom, the day spent with your warm family is a heartwarming memory.
I hope you and your family continue to enjoy your trip!
Mieko
dianefik, Mar 2024
Mieko is wonderful. So caring and concerned to make sure you see as much as possible. And so organized.
Howard_W, Oct 2023
Mieko was absolutely the best. I told Mieko to meet us at the Kumamoto cruise terminal, but the ship docked in Yatsushiro!! She was gracious enough to tell us how to get to Kumamoto, so off we went in a shuttle from the ship to the train station in Shinkansen, and then a bullet train to Kumamoto. AND THERE SHE WAS waiting for us.
She guided us all over Kumamoto. We went to the Kumamoto Castle and the Suizenji Jojuen Gardens.
Mieko was patient, understanding, knowledgeable, gracious, and tireless.
Please always ask for Mieko.
Response from Host, Oct 2023
Thank you for your compliments. The best part of the trip is the happening.
I was so happy when I saw you coming out of the Shinkansen ticket gate.
Shinkansen will remind me of your fun Kumamoto trip!
What a wonderful group of people you were to see you on this trip
caring for each other and having a good relationship with each other.
Thank you very much once again and Bon voyage!!
Mieko
Konrad_F, Feb 2023
Wir hatten nicht nur Glück mit dem schönen Wetter sondern auch mit unserer besten Führerin Mieko- San. Sie führte uns souverän daurch die bekannten Sehenswürdigkeiten von Kumamoto. Obendrein zeigte Sie uns Juwelen und versteckte Orte die selbst Einheimische kaum kennen dürften.
Das exzellente Mittagessen war in einem kleinen kultigen japanische Restaurant.
Vielen Dank.
Response from Host, Feb 2023
I was very impressed by the mutual respect and care you two have for each other.
The time I was able to spend with the two of you was invaluable and unforgettable.
Thank you very much.
I wish you both many more adventures in the future.
Mieko
From $137.32
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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