Travel Guide of Scenic Byway Kyushu Q-❾ Aso/Kumamoto Scenic Roads Cities of Aso and Kumamoto; Towns of Kikuyou, Ozu, Minamioguni, Oguni and Takamori; Villages of Ubuyama, MinamiAaso and Nishihara (Kumamoto Prefecture) ---Aso Volcano and Caldera, Higo- Kaido Road, and Kumamoto Castle Town－ Roughly speaking, the scenic areas in the Aso/Kumamoto route Yamanami Highway is the prefecture road 11 built as a tourist are located along Bungo Kaido that cross Kyushu, and are divided road in 1964, and the part of it is a scenic route (blue thick line in by seven zones, (1) to (7), as shown in the map. the map). However, this area is adjacent to and connected to the In other words, during the Edo period, Kumamoto Castle was built in Kumamoto City. After that, the 124km long Bungo Kaido, which connects to Oita City, was constructed. In the heyday, there were seven post towns along the Kaido via Aso City and Taketa City, but the heritage and historic sites of that time still remain. The area of Kumamoto Prefecture in Aso-Kuju National Park, which includes Mt. Aso and mountains of outer rim (Gairinzan) is the Scenic Highway area. [ Main Route] The main roads in this landscape area are Bungo- kaido Road, National Road 57, and Yamanami Highway. Among them, Bungo Kaido is a historic road, and while inheriting it, National Road 57 has been established. Therefore, they are the relationships between the old and new routes, which are partly overlapping or parallel. (1) Kurokawa Spa which is one of the most popular nationwide. (Minami Oguni Town). Q-❾ASO/KUMAMOTO Roads 1 with an altitude of 1000 to 1600m arranged almost linearly from east to west, and now eruption smoke rises from Nakadake in the center. These volcanic areas are located in Aso-Kuju National Park and are registered as UNESCO Global Geoparks. b) Bungo-Kaido Road. In the 17th century, the Bungo kaido from Kumamoto to Oita was constructed for “Sankinkotai”, which was a duty of the Daimyo to go to Edo every other year. Therefore, the lord of the Kumamoto clan and his servants often walked along the Bungo-kaido, then moved by boat from Oita to Osaka Port, and walked along the Tokaido. There were seven post towns such as Otsu and (2) Cobble Stone Road on Higo Kaido, Uchinomaki on the 124km Bungo Kaido. In addition, and echinops setifer at Higotai-Park landmark trees were planted every 4km to indicate the scenic route of "Yamanami Highland Parkway" (Q-❽). This allows distance. The biggest obstacle on the Bungo Kaido was many travelers to move freely between these two scenic road areas the steep slope inside the outer rim mountainas, and when it rains, and connect with each other. the road surface was muddy with volcanic ash. For this reason, the [Access] The access point of the“Aso/Kumamoto Scenic Route” is section between the ridge and the steep slope was paved by stones. Kumamoto Airport. There are eight routes between Kumamoto If you follow the Bungo Kaido, you’ll find stone bridge, drainage Airport and major domestic airports, including a flight to Amakusa channel, or old shrine, which will remind a past town and village Airport. In addition, it has three international routes to Kaohsiung, (see photos (2) and (4)). Incheon, and Hong Kong. c) Kumamoto Castle and its Town. On the other hand, Kumamoto Station is in Kumamoto City, If you look closely at the outer ring of the caldera, you can see which is about one hour to Hakata Station, Fukuoka Airport and that the outer ring has been scraped off in the Tateno area (west Kagoshima Chuo Station. In addition, Kumamoto Station is side) and the Shirakawa River flows from the outer ring toward the connected not only to the Kyushu Shinkansen, but also to the Ariake Sea, as in the map. Taking advantage of this terrain, Kagoshima Main Line, Hohi Main Line, and Misumi Line, high- National Road 57 runs along the Shirakawa River and continues speed buses, and long-distance buses. Based on these facts, to Kumamoto Castle in Kumamoto City. After passing Oozu-cho Fukuoka Airport, Hakata Station, Kagoshima Chuo Station and Town on the way, it is divided into a bypass and Prefecture Road Kumamoto Station are also access points to this scenic route. 377. [ Regional Resources] The main resources of the scenic route area The left bank of Shirakawa River is flat, and the right bank is are Aso Volcano, historical sites on Higo-kaido Road, and hilly. Therefore, Kumamoto Castle was built on the hill on the right Kumamoto Castle and its castle town. bank. The old castle was originally built in the Middle Ages but was a) Aso Volcano. replaced by a large castle in the 17th century. The volcanic activity of Mt. Aso is divided into four periods: the Kato Kiyomasa, the first lord in the Edo period, was a warlord pre-caldera volcanic period, the caldera formation period, the post- who experienced many wars during the Warring States period. For caldera volcanic activity period, and the period of historical this reason, Kumamoto Castle was built with special attention to recorded eras. Of these, it can be said defense. There were many innovations, such as high arched stone that the current appearance was formed mainly by the activities of the 2nd and Fukuoka 3rd periods. There were four major eruptions Oita between 270,000 and 90,000 years ago, with a large quantity of pyroclastic flow Saga and extensive ash fall. Along with this, a Aso Volcano Nagasaki huge caldera and a plateau surrounding Kumamoto it were created, but a crater hill Current Crater in Nakadake of Aso appeared in the caldera due to an eruption between 80,000 and 15,000 years ago. N It was the formation of a double Miyazaki volcano with scenic outer rim, a huge world-renowned caldera, and an Kagoshima eruption hill. The length of outer rim Note mountains is given with 128 km and the Active volcano Prefectural Capital caldera diameter, 18 km east-west and Border between prefectures 25 km north-south. In addition, the Aso Volcano located in the central part of Kyushu . crater hill is composed of five mountains Caldera and 5 volcanos in the Central crater hill. (5) Aso Volcano . 2 (3) “Daikanbo” in Outer Rim (Mount for observatory, 936m in altitude) (4) Aso Jinja Shrine and the Parade of Shinto Ritual. (Aso City, Kumamoto). (4) Stone Road at Futae Peak on Bungo Kaido (4) Trace of Matoishi’ Tea House (Aso City) (6) Shirakawa’s Water Spring walls, intricate alleys, key-shaped intersections, plazas for gathering soldiers, and the arrangements of temples. In fact, the Satsuma Rebellion (War of West & South) at the end of 19th century failed to occupy the castle, despite the burning of many buildings. The entire town of Kumamoto was a fortified city. (1) Healing area of Oguni & Minami-Oguni The Oguni / Minamioguni area is a healing place surrounded by lush forests and is the headwaters of the Chikugo River, which is the largest in Kyushu. If going to Oguni Town along National Roads 442 and 387, you can heal yourself in the rustic hot springs here and there. (7) Kumamoto City and Kumamoto Castle There are two dams in this area, Shimouke in full bloom (see Photo (2)), and you can eat delicious river fish and Matsubara, but there have been strong opposition from locals dishes called as a Yamame (brook trout). for a long time during the construction. As a result, it has had a (3) & (4) Zone of Aso Shrine, and Daikanbo on the outer rim. great impact on the way Japan's social capital was built and its When you return to Route 57 from Ubuyama Village, you will consideration for the environment. reach the steep slope of Takimurozaka. Stepping on the brakes and On the north side of Aso Volcano, Minami-Oguni Town extends making several sharp turns, you descend 200m in altitude at a to the outer rim and is full of highland agriculture of vegetables and stretch to reach Sakanashi post town in the caldera. Old buildings livestock, and forestry. Also, there are Japanese style of hot springs and stone bridges are left in this former post town, and you can see such as Kurokawa Onsen along the stream, and the Senomoto the townscape with the atmosphere of 200 or 300 years ago. Plateau at an altitude of about 900m is a vast highland on the Kuju In the center of Aso City, there is Aso Shrine related to the Aso mountain range which have views of autumn leaves and Japanese clan which ruled the Aso area in the Middle ages. The Aso Shrine pampas grass. is the headquarter of 450 branch shrines, and every February, the (2) Ubuyama Village famous fire festival (a national intangible folk cultural asset) is held Ubuyama Village is a typical mountain village sandwiched to pray for a good harvest. between the Yamanami-highway and the Bungo-kaido Road. A few kilometers west of the shrine on National Road 57, you will Grasslands and pastures spreads to the rich natural plateau on the find the roadside station “Aso” and the Aso Station of JR Hohi Line, outer rim of Aso Volcano, so you can enjoy a leisurely drive or trek which are relay points to Aso Volcano, and you can prepare for in the wind of the highland. mountain climbing. As the main attractions, there are an old cobblestone road a little The highlights in the area of outer rim mountains are as follows.