Here are some highlights of our short trip to Kumamoto. Places we visited include:
Amakusa Islands and Shimoda onsen
Milk road scenic drive
Various onsens around Oguni city including Kurokawa onsen
Making miso and staying at a retreat
Kujyu mountain range (previous post)
Cuddly Dominion and helicopter ride to view the cauldron of Mt. Aso
+This was Melina’s favorite part of the trip. She got to feed bears, touch capybaras, penguins, alpacas, and lots of other animals. She and Suzuna also got their first helicopter ride up to see the active volcano that had a large eruption in 2015. The Mt. Aso ropeway is still closed.
Kumamoto city: Ramen, Castle[ruins], and Japanese garden
+Kumamoto had a large earthquake in 2016 practically destroying Kumamoto castle. A sightseeing course walking around the grounds is open, but the main castle is still undergoing repairs and will not open for another 2 years. The entire castle complex is slated to take 20 years to repair.

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