We spent the most time in Kumamoto during our trip (which really just means that we spent 2 nights at the same hotel here) and had the rental car the entire time which allowed us to go to all sorts of places that weren't as accessible by train.
Kumamoto Castle
Of course, this seemed like a no brainer to visit. We've been to a decent handful of castles in Japan now and one of the good things as they're usually quite easy to access and each has its own unique features. Didn't need the car for this one but because of where it fit into the schedule, we needed the car before and after, so we parked at Ninomaru parking lot and this seemed like a cheaper rate than the other paid lots.
The admission fee isn't too expensive, and they seem to be working hard to get everything back in shape (but also doing it correctly) from what happened with the earthquake. The park grounds that the castle is in and actually really huge and we didn't walk all over, but on a nice day, this is definitely well worth a visit.
One Piece statues
The main thing we wanted to accomplish before moving on from Kumamoto is visiting all of the One Piece statues that were erected as part of the Hinokuni Revival Arc / Kumamoto Revival Project
since the manga artist's hometown is in Kumamoto. I will admit, I have never watched this anime or read the manga. My husband is the one who is a fan and picked this activity, but that wasn't going to stop me from posing with each one too lol. I did really enjoy reading about the backstory for each location and how they were chosen.
Photos and statues are posted here in the order that we visited them as we drove from Beppu towards Kumamoto city.
First up is USOPP at Aso Station/roadside station.
We didn't immediately know what to expect with regards to the surroundings, but since this is a roadside station, there's lots of parking (including attendants to direct you) and a little shop as well. The statue location was pretty obvious with a small crowd of people who were there right before us, but didn't dawdle, and we didn't wait long for our turn. It seems like this status is easily accessible 24 hours.
We made a brief stop for lunch north of Aso station, and then continued on our journey to find Robin. Robin is located at the Earthquake Museum and site of what used to be the Tokai University in Aso. The damaged building is still there as part of the museum and Robin is up the hill next to it.
You do not need to purchase admission to see the statue and the staff at the museum actually asked us if we were here to see the statue and then pointed us in the right direction after we exited the car in the parking lot. We were a bit short on time, but I would recommend checking out this museum if you do have 20-23 minutes of flexibility in your schedule and are already there!
About 25 minutes away, the statue of Franky is tucked on the side of Takamori station which seems to be a small, newer station. There is parking nearby and also a limited One Piece (themed?) train that operates out of this station as well.
Not too far from this station is Shirakawa Spring which would have been nice to stop by if we had had more time as well.
The Nami statue is near a flower garden/park and there's also a roadside station type store near the large parking lot. This is the last one in the Aso area.
Zoro stands proudly in a park in Ozu.
This statue seems to have the largest base out of all of them, so he's quite tall!
We were racing against the sun setting as we found Sanji at an athletic/sports park in Mashiki.
An older man who seemed to be doing some walking and stretching exercises saw us by the statue and kindly offered to take our photo together. It took a couple tries, but we ended up with a good one!
We squeezed Chopper in for our last on this day with the sun very low in the sky. He's in Kumamoto city area at the Zoo!
The parking lot nearest the statue does seem to close at a certain time, but if you're just visiting briefly, I think you can just stop on the side for a bit. (Statue should be available 24 hours.) It should be accessible by public transport somewhat easily as well since it's on the zoo grounds. 7 out of 10 pirates in one afternoon.
We started the 2nd day with the one and only Luffy near the Kumamoto Prefectural Government Office. If you arrive by car, there may be an attendant. Let them know you're there for the statue and they'll let you know where to park.
This statue is among a bunch of ginko trees and it's quite nice in person during fall! Lots of color on the ground and still in the branches.
Jinbe is a bit more out of the way on Okoshiki Coast. This statue is quite massive at the base!
Consider timing your visit to Jinbe with low tide so you can see the exposed road and walk out too!
Finally, last but not least, Brook in Mifune, near the Dinosaur Museum in a children's park.
I was glad the sun came out for a little bit so you can see his golden color a bit better!
It took us 2 days to see all 10 statues and a lot of driving between each one. While most (if not all) are accessible 24/7 with nearby parking lots, I don't think most (or any?) of them have dedicated lights, so I do think it's better to check them out during the day.
Crowds weren't much of a problem for this activity. Occasionally we had to wait a couple minutes with a small line, but most people just wanted to get their picture and move on, so we didn't have to worry about getting other people in the photo.
If you enjoy One Piece and are going to be in Kumamoto, it's definitely fun trying to get to all the different locations and learn a little bit about each area!
These places were best experienced in person, but I shot a handful of photos from the car and at a lookout point on the side of the road going through the Aso area (from Beppu towards Kumamoto city).
Despite all of the disjointed driving he had to do, my husband said this was one of his favorite parts of the trip. And we didn't even go into the caldera itself.
Okoshiki Coast
This was one of the things I already had on my list to see before I started researching the locations of all of the One Piece statues, so it worked out that this is where Jinbe is located since it's a bit out of the way. This is on the Ariake Sea and there are large tidal changes here where the water pulls way, way back and gets super shallow!
We were able to time it right to be there at low tide and walk out on the Nagabeta Tidal Road (only exposed when the water is pulled back) which fisherman use to harvest nori.
This is an especially scenic coast when low tide coincides with sunset and the whole area glows orange! We visited at around noon on a cloudy day when it was super windy and cold. There are further areas down where you can better see the iconic mini waves of sand(?) which we were able to see from the car, but opted not to stop again for a photo.
Suntory Kyushu Kumamoto Factory
Located just about a 10 minute drive from the One Piece Brook statue, this Suntory Factory seemed like a good stop since we were already in the area. They offer free tours with a reservation system and specific time slots. It seems like if the tour isn't full, you can walk in, but the reservation is pretty easy and can be done online, so I would recommend that if you want to be sure to be included!
If you are driving/not drinking, like me, you will have a red lanyard with a GUEST pass on it so they know who shouldn't/won't be consuming alcohol.
The tour is conducted in Japanese, but there is app you can download (and activate at the factory) that has English narration so you can follow along as well.
Last part of the tour is the tasting! There was actually about 7 or 8 children on our tour, so it's quite nice that they provide a choice of refreshments beyond just the beer for attendees who are underage or designated drivers.
My husband was able to try the three different versions of the premium malt and a small package of otsumami (1 per person) was also included.
You're in the tasting room for about 15 minutes. I tried the Pepsi drink and a yogurt flavored water lol.
I think this tour was quite good for no cost! It's quite a lot of just brand propaganda, but I think it's interesting to see how things are made and hear about what companies think makes them special/standout. For Suntory, it definitely seems to be their 天然水 "tennensui". My husband and I kept repeating that to each other throughout the rest of the night because we heard it so much lol.
What we ate in Kumamoto
Tengoku 馬料理天國 horse specialty restaurant
We were recommended to eat horse while in this area by our friends and this specific restaurant that they had been to while here a handful of months ago. I called to make a reservation for lunch since we were visiting on a Sunday and had a bit of a schedule for the day. While we were there, I think they were turning down walk-ins and anyone trying to make a reservation for day-of, so I do recommend making a reservation, especially on the weekend.
While we did somewhat enjoy the food, this place does NOT seem very foreigner/tourist friendly, so I would hesitate to recommend it. Even when I was trying to make the reservation in Japanese (I was nervous and wasn't speaking perfectly, but didn't use any English), the staff just abruptly said "NO ENGLISH" and immediately hung up on me. I had to call back and make it clear that I would use Japanese for the reservation. It may be different if you order more food or drinks/spend more money than we did. Apparently our friends had ordered more than one set and the staff were quite happy with him. Dinner also seems quite a bit more pricey than lunch.
Aso Milk Factory Restaurant
This was where we stopped for lunch after starting our One Piece statue journey in Aso. It's about a 15 minute drive from Aso station/roadside station and has a lot of other dairy products besides the restaurant. The small glass of milk is complimentary when you order.
We wanted to try some of the chain ramen shops in Kumamoto, and this one was near our hotel, so we opted for that the first night. This restaurant is particular seems to be the "World" version which basically just seemed to be mean they offered Ajisen versions of some noodle dishes from around the world in addition to some of their standard items. We were interested in just their original, so we both got Ajisen ramen and also some sides.
Kokutei
Ramen seemed like the right choice for the second dinner as well, so we sought out another seemingly popular chain, Kokutei Ramen.
Definitely different than the Ajisen Ramen, but neither of the dishes from these two places in Kumamoto were standout ramens for the trip for us!
For accommodations, we stayed at a Toyoko Inn in an Economy Double room again. It really is quite small, especially compared to the room we got in Beppu where we stayed for such a short amount of time, but worth it for the price.
Since we had a car, we opted for the Toyoko Inn Kumamoto-jyo Toricho Suji that's further from Kumamoto station, but since we didn't use public transport here at all, that worked out well for us. It was quite close to a bunch of shopping areas and still felt like we had a lot to do in the immediate area.
I learned a lot more about the area than I previously knew, especially about the Kumamoto Earthquake, and got to see a lot of Kumamon everywhere! He truly is beloved.
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