Discover Japan's Hidden Gems

Explore temples, shrines, castles, parks, and more

Historic Site World Heritage
Kumamoto

Manda Pit

A Miike Coal Mine Shaft Tower and Brick Winding House on the Kumamoto-Fukuoka Border

A pit of the Mitsui Miike coal mine with its works still standing: an 18.8 m steel headframe from...

Arao, Kumamoto, Japan
Michi-no-eki
Kumamoto

Michi-no-Eki Aso

Aso produce and travel advice beside JR Aso Station

A roadside station on Route 57 right next to JR Aso Station, facing the five peaks of Mount Aso. ...

Aso, Kumamoto, Japan
Historic Site Hikyo World Heritage
Kumamoto

Sakitsu Village

A Fishing Village Where Hidden Christians Saw Mary in Abalone Shells

A small fishing village on Amakusa Shimoshima whose Gothic church, built in 1934 with a tatami fl...

Amakusa, Kumamoto, Japan
Michi-no-eki
Kumamoto

Michi-no-Eki Shichijo Melon Dome

Melons under melon-shaped roofs in Kikuchi

Three green melon-shaped domes on Route 325 in Kikuchi, filled with local melons, melon sweets an...

Kikuchi, Kumamoto, Japan
Michi-no-eki
Kumamoto

Michi-no-Eki Kamiamakusa Sunpearl

Seafood bowls at the first of the Amakusa bridges

A roadside station on Route 266 on Oyano island, close to Tenmon Bridge, the first of the Amakusa...

Kamiamakusa, Kumamoto, Japan
Historic Site World Heritage
Kumamoto

Misumi West Port

A Meiji Harbour Left Almost as Built: 756 m of Stone Quay at the Mouth of Amakusa

A harbour designed by the Dutch engineer Rouwenhorst Mulder and opened in 1887, with a 756 m ston...

Uki, Kumamoto, Japan
Shrine Hikyo
Kumamoto

Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine

Moss-Covered Lanterns and a Hole Through the Mountain in a Cedar Forest Above Takamori

A small mountain shrine in southern Aso reached by a stone stairway lined with 97 moss-covered la...

Takamori, Kumamoto, Japan