Kyushu Hiking and Cycling Tour

Meet at Kumamoto Airport and drive to Takachiho by minibus. During the drive, you will stop at a spot overlooking Mount Aso. If you need outdoor gear, you can buy or rent it at specialty stores.

In addition to the beauty of the deep gorge created by lava from Mount Aso, Takachiho is also famous as a mythological place. It is where the ancestors of the Japanese emperor supposedly descended from heaven, and Takachiho is often mentioned in many surviving Japanese myths.

You’ll check in to the hotel early in the evening, so you’re free to visit the mythological sites if you wish.

On this day, you’ll see the deep Takachiho Gorge and how people live there. You’ll walk along a nature trail in the deep valley and then enjoy outdoor cooking. You’ll be making “chicken cooked in green bamboo,” a Takachiho specialty.

After lunch, head for the goal while looking at the terraced rice paddies and tea fields that efficiently use the land of shrines and narrow valleys, which are the heart and soul of local residents. Once the tour ends, it’s dinnertime. You’ll see the Yokagura, a song and dance passed down from antiquity.

On this day, you’ll walk an ancient path that kept people living deep in the mountains alive. With a legendary local guide, you’ll walk about 16 km (15.9 km) on the mountain path for 8 hours.

You’ll leave the hotel before dawn and see the headwaters of the river that carved the Takachiho Gorge, which you saw yesterday, and head to the starting point.

On a sunny day, you can see many high peaks in Kyushu in the distance from the starting point. As you see a natural forest thick with massive beech trees and rare plants particular to this limestone area, you’ll hear anecdotes regarding this “pack horse” path on which goods were transported on horseback long ago. A highlight is Mount Ogi at a height of 1,661m (5,450 feet) above sea level, which you’ll see near the end of the hike.

After descending the mountain and leaving Takachiho, you’ll finally enter the caldera. Relieve your fatigue in the hot springs and rest.

On this day, you will experience how people live in the exceptional back hills created by Mount Aso’s caldera. The starting point is a high plateau at a height of 900m (2,952 feet) above sea level atop the outer rim of Mount Aso overlooking the mountain. From here, Mount Aso looks like the sleeping Buddha, which is why it is known as “Sleeping Buddha.”

Enjoy today’s cycling since it is downhill. Watch the cows graze as you enjoy traveling through the grasslands and back hills. In a place the owner carved out from the back hills himself, you’ll enjoy the blessings of nature by harvesting fresh vegetables with locals and cooking on a kitchen furnace.

Afterward, cycle through the quiet town, leave the bicycles, and visit a shiitake farmer who uses nature’s bounty to cultivate shiitake mushrooms on logs. After you hear about unique, traditional methods of production from an enthusiastic young business owner, you’ll harvest and sample flavorful shiitake mushrooms.

This day will be an important day to experience the power of Mount Aso, which continues to spew smoke. Start at Aso Station, which is at a height of 523m (1,715 feet) above sea level and which is the gateway to Mount Aso. You will take e-bikes all the way up to Nakadake Crater at a height of 1,258m (4,127 feet) above sea level. Cycling the grassland trail is a special cycling experience since it is normally closed. Still spewing smoke, Nakadake Crater is a sight to behold. Cycling will continue after lunch. Near Komekura, a small volcanic cone, you will explore the lava tunnels that were naturally formed when lava flowed long ago while looking out over verdant grasslands.

Conclude the tour with a cycle of 32 km (32 km) in 7 hours, reaching a height of 780m (2,559 feet). The final dinner will be a barbecue in the hotel garden, which is a famed site of spiritual energy.

After a goodby breakfast, you’ll drive to Kumamoto Airport. Have a safe journey home!