Since it was such a beautiful day, we saw many people enjoying driving and motorcycle riding.
There is a restaurant so it’s a good place to take rest after a long drive.
Photo credit : Chieko @untappedkumamoto
Photo credit : Chieko @untappedkumamoto
From there, we can see the range of mountains which seem like buddha is lying.
Photo credit : Chieko @untappedkumamoto
Photo credit : Chieko @untappedkumamoto
Let me explain a little bit about Kikuchi keikoku.
Kikuchi keikoku is the gorge in a water source and it lies between Kikuchi city and Aso city.
It is famous for the great scenery and we can enjoy the season change.
All the places is surrounded by broad-leaf wild forest.
It hasn’t been developed much so we can see the wild nature there.
The summer in Kumamoto is super hot and humid so people often visit there craving for the cooler mountain retreat.
On April 14th and 16th in 2016, magnitude 6.5 and 7.3 earthquakes hit Kumamoto region.
These caused severe damages to all around Kumamoto and Kikuchi keikoku wasn’t the exception.
After all the restoration in Kikuchi keikoku, it could finally reopen at the end of March in 2018.
There are some parking areas and if the nearest one is full, the person there will show you other ones.
Luckily, we could park the car at the nearest one so we headed to Kikuchi keikoku kan.
We were so starving after climbing and playing outside so decided to have lunch first.
Photo credit : Chieko @untappedkumamoto
Photo credit : Chieko @untappedkumamoto
In Kikuchi keikoku kan, there are a restaurant and a souvenir shop.
Yamame is wild fish and live in gorge which has clear water.
They were selling grilled yamame outside and also we can eat some at the restaurant.
Some tables and chairs are placed towards the windows so we can enjoy the nice view while eating.
Photo credit : Chieko @untappedkumamoto
They also have desserts and drinks so it’s a nice place to relax.
Photo credit : Chieko @untappedkumamoto
Photo credit : Fumi @fu.mi.nn
Photo credit : Chieko @untappedkumamoto
After having nice lunch, we entered Kikuchi keikoku.
The entrance fee is 100 yen per person and this money is used to maintain natural environment there.
Photo credit : Chieko @untappedkumamoto
Photo credit : Chieko @untappedkumamoto
Photo credit : Chieko @untappedkumamoto
I’m so sure that everyone is fascinated by the stunning gorge.
Water is so clean and the view is picturesque.
Photo credit : Tanima @tanima1990
Photo credit : Tanima @tanima1990
My friends are so good at taking photos and were enjoying doing it with their tripods.
I was just sitting on the rock relaxing and thinking when was the last time to forget about everything and just relax.
Photo credit : Tanima @tanima1990
Photo credit : Tanima @tanima1990
It was too cold to paddle my feet over 3 seconds in the water!
Photo credit : Fumi @fu.mi.nn
One of my friend is a yoga instructor and was enjoying yoga there.
Photo credit : Fumi @fu.mi.nn
Since we had such a wonderful time, we didn’t realize that we spent over 3 hours!
We decided to come there in each season.
Photo credit : Fumi @fu.mi.nn
If you want to get out of the concrete jungle and forget about hustle and bustle of life, Kikuchi keikoku is the best place to visit.
【Information and links】
Nishiyunouraenchi Kitayama tenbousho(西湯浦園地 北山展望所)
Kikuchi keikoku
Kikuchi keikoku kan(きくち渓谷館 )
Tanima 2018-06-16
Everytime I will miss our outing at Kikuchi, I will come back to your blog!! Thanks for giving detailed information about the hidden gems of Kumamoto’s nature.
chieko 2018-06-20 — 投稿者
Tanima
Thank you so much for your comments and letting me use the beautiful photos you took.
You’re such a great photographer!
I am very happy to share our wonderful experiences with world.
Let’s explore Kumamoto more and introduce untapped places together! (*^_^*)