Kumamoto Full-Day Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide

The tour was very great The guide was also very nice and friendly - also discussed the tour with us in advance. He could also have the Musashi museum open especially for us even though it was official on the day Just don't give 5 stars because the English was ok but not so that a smooth communication was possible - would have liked some more explanation / background information at one point or another. Nevertheless a very successful tour and to recommend

Kenzie was very kind and knowledgeable. He helped us get around to many One Piece statues and the Kumamoto Castle. He even found us the perfect little place for lunch. We highly recommend.

Mieko was such a wonderful guide! She took our interests into consideration and showed us a special Shinto temple and let us drink from the "long life" spring. She also explained how to do a Shinto prayer and took us for a walk where the gods lived. We had lunch at the perfect place--we wanted to eat good seafood--the seafood was fresh and the service fast and friendly. The fresh grilled scallops were the best I've tasted. Also, we got to try horse sashimi which is a specialty of Fukuoka I think. It was very good. We also toured Kumamoto Castle and the surrounding areas. We ended the tour at a restaurant that served the Kumamoto Wagyu special beef--from black cows! I'd highly recommend having Mieko guide you!

We had a great day with Jun. He was very well prepared and explained a lot about all the sites we visited. He was an excellent guide

Jun was an excellent guide. Very well prepared. Showed us a lot and was excellent at explaining things. We had an excellent day with him

My family had the most wonderful time in Kumamoto with our special guide, Mieko. She knows he city inside and out as she guided us through castles, markets, museums and beautiful parks. Mieko was so easy to understand and at every moment was finding some fun and informative piece of information to share with us about Kumamoto. She is a guide you must have if you are to ever visit.

If you have an opportunity to book a tour with Mieko, please take it, she is a fantastic guide!! Mieko is very knowledgeable about the area and really heightened our experience. She researched topics we were interested in, picked us up with an itinerary for the day (which we developed together ahead of time via text), and continually let us know what to expect, as the day unfolded. Mieko also helped us navigate the city tram so we could independently continue enjoying the area after our tour was completed. We wish all our tours could be this wonderful, thank you Mieko!!

Our guide Jun-san was fantastic. He adjusted the tour to our interests, brought us to a really fun activity (Zogan workshop) and helped tremendously with recommendations and travel arrangements, even after the day of the tour. Communication by email was fast and clear. Even riding the trams like a local was an enjoyable part of the day. A great experience in Kumamoto.

Mieko was a blessing to have on our visit to Kumamoto! She was very flexible and allowed us to customize the tour to our interests. Once we settled on an agenda for the day, our party of 6 embarked on a wonderful, adventurous, fun filled day! We started off by visiting Foodpal Kumamoto, an out of the city venue that we had discovered through researching things to do in Kumamoto. Although the venue was partially closed, we were able visit several specialty shops and met the gracious owner of Hashimoto Shoyu! Mrs. Hashimoto even went out of the way to escort us from her shoyu factory to main market place, giving us a tour of the area and sharing the history of her 5 generation family business. What a treat to have met her and experience such hospitality from her! Our next stop was lunch at a grilling izakaya that Mieko found within walking distance of Kumamoto Castle. This was a special request that we put on her and she came through with flying colors! We loved grilling experiences on recent trips to Niigata and Hachinohe. For lunch we feasted on the freshest seafood harvested from Kumamoto's waters, abalone, oysters, scallops, hokkigai clams, snow crab and jumbo tiger prawns! To top it off, Mieko suggested we try a taste of the special Kumamoto horsemeat sashimi and ordered us a platter to sample, which we tried with apprehension and found it to be a little chewy but nicely flavored, dipped in shoyu with green onion and grated ginger topping. After lunch we headed to Kumamoto Castle to walk off the feast. All I can say is that Mieko is an expert at navigating the Castle through heavy tourist traffic and providing expert commentary and historical information on the Lords and families that occupied the castle during the edo period. Especially drawing my attention was her familiarity and talking points on Miyamoto Musashi, Lord Hosokawa, Lady Gracia, Saigo Takamori and the other Daimyo lords under the shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu! After sweeping through the Castle, we had enough time to visit the Sakuranobaba, shopping area right outside the castle. There we were able to do some sake tasting at a liquor shop and browse through the shopping area before heading back to our hotel. Mieko gave us a full day of fun and adventure that we would not have been able to experience on our own! We have made a lifelong friend and will be sure to refer our friends and family to Mieko when they visit Kumamoto!

Professional and knowledgeable guide. Mieko was also extremely flexible in working out details of final itinerary. Her knowledge of Kumamoto Castle made it an enjoyable and informative tour. Highly recommend!!