Yamaga Onsen, Kumamoto's little Kyoto~!

#Overseas travel Kurokawa Onsen is a famous hot spring town in Kumamoto Prefecture. It is famous to both foreigners and Japanese people. However, it is said that locals are reluctant to go there because transportation is very inconvenient. So where do Kumamoto citizens go for hot spring trips? They say that many people head to Tamana Onsen, Kikuchi Onsen, and Yamaga Onsen, which are 40-50 minutes away by car. I go to Yamaga Onsen Village, which is located in the middle of the three. It is not only the largest in size, but it is also called Kumamoto's little Kyoto. This is also a place I discovered while studying little Kyoto. There is a city bus every 30 minutes from the Kumamoto Bus Center, and it takes about an hour to get there. My accommodation was at Kumamoto Station. From Tamana Onsen to Yamaga Onsen, there is a route bus that runs every 1-2 hours, so you can use the All Kyushu Pass to get to Shin-Tamana Station, where the Shinkansen stops, in just 10 minutes. It takes about 40 minutes from here to Yamaga Onsen. It takes more than 70 minutes from Kumamoto Station, so you can save both bus fare and time. When returning to Kumamoto, the bus and train schedules do not match, so you will return by bus to Kumamoto Station. Yamaga Onsen also has ryokans located along the river. There is a Kyoto-style street with a hot spring town shopping street, and the smell of rice and alcohol from the tall brewery, and it is an ideal hot spring town with ashiyu and public hot springs! The atmosphere of the city is similar to Yuda Onsen in Yamaguchi Prefecture, and the side located along the river has the atmosphere of Ureshino Onsen, and the side with the shopping street resembles Kotohira Onsen. The large public hot spring in the center feels like the main building of Dogo Onsen, and the hot spring water is drinkable, which reminds me of Arima Onsen. The Ashiyu with Kumamon reminds me of Noboribetsu Onsen. It would have been better if I had stayed overnight and walked around the moonlit Yamaga Onsen, but I learned a lot even though I stopped by before moving to Fukuoka on the last half-day of my Kyushu trip. Thank you. #JapanTravel #KumamotoTravel #KyushuTravel #HotSpringTravel #Kumamoto