WAmazing
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Experience the history and present day of the castle town of Kumamoto Castle, one of the three most famous castles in Japan, while also supporting reconstruction efforts!

Your own private "Kumamoto Castle Town Walk" tour with a local guide who knows all about Kumamoto

USD162.03(JPY25,000)Per Group
Kumamoto
  • A confirmation email for your reservation will be sent to you within 48 hours.
    *If your reservation cannot be completed, WAmazing Play will process your refund.
  • Required Time:
    180minutes
  • Reservation Time:
    13:30
  • Supported Languages:
    Japanese / English
Participants(Min.):
1 Group
Participants(Max.):
1 Group
Min. Participants Required For Activity:
1 Group
Payment Method:
Credit Card (VISA/MASTER/AMERICAN EXPRESS/JCB)
Fee:
1-4 persons USD 162.03
Age (Min.):
7 years old
Parent/ Guardian Required:
Under 18 years old
Cancellation:
Yes
Booking deadline:
4 days prior by 17:00

Activity

The "Furumachi Area," a castle town built by Kiyomasa Kato at the same time as the construction of Kumamoto Castle

The Shinmachi and Furumachi areas will be guided based on a map that will help you visualize the Edo period. In the Furumachi area, you will walk through the streets where you can still feel the atmosphere of the town with its unchanged town divisions and names, and stop by stores that are working to pass on the town's history to future generations. While enjoying local food, visitors will experience the charm of a modern castle town.

Stroll through a modern local merchant town with a sense of the changing times in the Shinmachi Area

In the Shinmachi area, you can feel the change from the Edo to Meiji period while visiting historical buildings. Visitors can enjoy shopping by stopping by a long-established toy wholesaler where they can purchase candy and toys that make great souvenirs, and a sake shop (corner shop and eat-in available) where they can gather sake from Kyushu.

Private tours limited to one group per day

Since this tour focuses on "understandability and fun," it will be conducted not only with academic explanations but also with moderate content, taking into consideration the interests of participants, their level of understanding, and pace. You can take many photos at the most spectacular photo spots, and guides will be available to assist with photography.

Regional Contribution and Reconstruction Assistance Program

This program is designed to indirectly support the recovery of the region by visiting and purchasing items from merchants who are working hard to revitalize and preserve the area's historic buildings and restore the local economy.

Interaction with a guide who grew up in Kumamoto, lived in Canada and New York, and then returned to their hometown to live in Kumamoto.

Our guide, Aki, has studied English communication in Canada and the U.S., and worked in the service industry in New York City. Their 910 TOEIC score enables them to communicate as well as a native English speaker. They can also tell you about gourmet foods and sightseeing spots around Kumamoto City that they recommend, according to your preferences.

Schedule

  • Gathering and reception, explanation of Kumamoto Castle and the castle town

    (1) Please present your My Page reservation screen at reception. (2) After showing you the itinerary, we will give you an overview of the history of Kumamoto Castle and the castle town, showing you the "Bird's-eye View of Kumamoto Castle Town" from the Edo period.

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  • Explanation of highlights of Kumamoto Castle Town and Furumachi area

    Walking along the streets lined with townhouses with an air of elegance, visitors will stop by "Purely," an organic store in a revitalized townhouse, "Toranosuke," a new type of Japanese sweets shop with a motif of Kumamoto Castle, and "Coffee Gallery," a popular local coffee roaster and cafe in a renovated old house, and enjoy shopping and interacting with local people.

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  • Explanation of highlights of Kumamoto Castle Town and Shinmachi area

    You will stroll through the Shinmachi area, passing the Meihachibashi Bridge and the ruins of the Satsuma Kaido Shin-Sanchome Gomon Gate. While walking along Satsuma Kaido, which was used for the Edo period (1603-1867) for the Sankin Kotai, visitors can enjoy a coffee at "Matsuishi," a bakery where visitors can get a sense of the westernization of the area during the Meiji period, and on the second floor of "Nagasaki Jiro Bookstore," a long-established bookstore in a Taisho period Western-style building. The tour will visit Yoshida Shokado, an apothecary that has been in business since the Edo period (it is one of the largest townhouses in Kumamoto Castle Town) from the outside, and visit long-established toy stores and liquor stores that are still beloved by the community.

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  • Explanation of reconstruction from the Kumamoto earthquake and "historical town planning"

    Seven years have passed since the Kumamoto earthquake. We are not merely restoring damaged buildings, but are supporting reconstruction and contributing to the local community through eating, drinking, and socializing at stores in the castle town area that are working on reconstruction, leading to a new "historical town development".

  • Kaku-uchi activity at Japanese liquor store "Fukujo-ya" and dismissal

    The tour will end with a visit to "Fukushiroya" (corner shop and eat-in available), which sells sake from Kyushu and other regions of Japan. Founded 83 years ago, this sake shop is filled with the energy of its dynamic owner and young staff. The store offers a wide selection of rare Japanese sake and rare wines that can only be found here in Kumamoto. There is a wine warehouse in the back of the store where you can sample whiskey in 10-millimeter increments per glass. Craft beers from around the world can be enjoyed while standing and snacking. You can enjoy the corner store style where you can eat in with your purchases from the liquor store.

Included in the Fee

3-hour guide fee

Not included in the Fee

Transportation to the meeting place
Personal expenses such as food and beverage
Guide tip

Meeting Place

Front tent area in front of Gofukumachi Clinic, Medical Corporation Idetakai

1-21 Gofukumachi, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto-shi, Kumamoto 860-0035

Directions

Nearest Station：Gofukumachi Station (Kumamoto City Tram), Gofukumachi bus stop (local bus)

Directions to Nearest Station：1-minute walk

Destination by Taxi：Medical Corporation Idetakai Gofukumachi Clinic

Things guests need to prepare on the day of the activity (clothes, belongings, etc.)

Comfortable clothes, comfortable shoes for walking, backpack or slanted bag

Hat for sunny days, towel for wiping sweat

Bottled water and other beverages with lids are allowed, cash (Japanese yen)

Cancellation Policy

The cancel fee is based on the timing of the cancellation. Please check the cancellation policy below.

  • The day of use
    100%

Notes

About Kumamoto Castle and the castle town
Kumamoto Castle, one of the three most famous castles in Japan, is an impregnable castle. 400 years ago, Kiyomasa Kato, a very strong and strategic warlord, built the castle and the castle towns of Shinmachi and Furumachi around the castle. In the Shinmachi and Furumachi areas, the work and food culture that supported the prosperity of Kumamoto Castle are still being passed down to the present day.
Furumachi is said to have been designed as a military base in case Kumamoto Castle was attacked, with the town divided into a grid pattern and a temple at the center of the grid. The area also developed as a logistics hub, with wholesale dealers having unloading yards along the Tsuboigawa River.
Crossing the stone bridge over the Tsuboi River from Furumachi, you will enter the Shinmachi area. Shinmachi, through which the Satsuma Kaido road, one of the most important historical roads in the Edo period (1603-1867), was used for "Sankin Koryo," is characterized by streets that are divided into long strips from north to south with many cranks built in such a way that there is no clear view, and is a rare town in Japan with a mix of samurai residences and merchants' towns. The second oldest bakery in Japan, which was transformed from a candy store to a bakery after the Russo-Japanese War, and a long-established bookstore and its coffee shop, which has been in business for over 140 years and is designated as a Tangible Cultural Property of Japan, are among the historical buildings that you can visit and feel the change from the Edo to Meiji Era.

[About the castle town and the Kumamoto earthquake]
The Kumamoto Earthquake, a catastrophe of unprecedented scale, forced the decision to demolish or preserve the townhouses in the Shinmachi and Furumachi areas, which still retain the atmosphere of Kumamoto's castle town. Compared to the pre-earthquake period, more than 30% of the buildings have been demolished.
The tour will visit stores that are working hard to revitalize and preserve historical buildings and restore the local economy, and by making purchases, the program will indirectly support the reconstruction of the area.

Note:
Some of the stores we will stop by during the tour accept only cash, so please be sure to bring cash in Japanese yen.

Organizer

UCHICO tourism JAPAN Co., Ltd.

2F Hamamatsucho Daiya Building, 2-2-15 Hamamatsucho, Minato-ku, Tokyo

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Dates2024/05/21
1-4 persons(USD 162.03)
USD0.00(JPY0)
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