Explore Kumamoto

Reviews

Before you take a tour with us why not find out what some of our guests have to say, here are just a few of our Explore Kumamoto reviews:

The visit to Kumamoto was splendid! Way above all expectations, honestly. Your expertise in history and knowledge of all the places we visited really took us to an other level in Japanese culture and history. You brought the old places alive, like the Reigando cave, experience which I will always remember. The visit to mr. Matsunaga Genroku sensei’s work shop is a memory too which I will never forget.
And the flight around the Aso volcano, the hot springs… everything.
Your patience with us wondering and lingering around, answering to our endless questions was really worth every penny! Talk about the costs: I have traveled quite a bit and have had guides of all sorts, your reasonable price compared to the quality of the service was absolutely the best I have ever received anywhere!
Your knowledge of Musashi was a real surprise to me! I am a great fan of Miyamoto Musashi and I will always remember how you started telling me of the weapons Gonnosuke, one of Musashi’s opponents, was using in their battles.
On top that all, your friendliness and gladness through the long day was really heart warming
Samurai Swords Tour Matti & Janne October 2015  Finland

We only had a day to spend in Kumamoto so we maximised our time by joining the Explore Kumamoto Takachiho gorge trip.  This proved to be a great decision as Helen was a fantastic guide.  She was able to impart interesting facts about the mythology of the place and witty anecdotes about Japanese culture.

The gorge didn’t disappoint and was stunning in Autumn.  Its actually not easy to get to so we highly recommend this tour if you’re after a memorable experience
Takachiho Tour    Joe & Daniel  November 2015 Australia

My husband and I joined Explore Kumamoto on a day trip to Takachiho Gorge. It was a wonderful and memorable experience for us. The autumn view of the gorge is marvellous. Most importantly, Helen did a great job of explaining the myths and culture behind the things we saw. She was also responsive to my emails and requests prior to the trip. The day trip really maximized our time spent there. It was a great experience.
Takachiho Tour    Kexin & Cedric November 2015 Singapore

For a personalized, friendly and amazing tour, please contact Helen at Explore Kumamoto tours. She custom-tailored our tour to learn about Musashi and she does tours around other areas outside of Kumamoto. She provided transportation and drove us to some hard to reach locations. She’s a native English-speaker living in Japan for many years. Just wonderful, highly recommend.
Samurai Swords Tour  Jennifer & Daniel  Dec 2105  U.S.A.
Jennifer wrote a great blog post about Musashi Miyamoto after her visit to Kumamoto, read it here.

Thank you for the lovely photographs you took for us, they are so well taken and the scenery is so beautiful.
It was really very nice tour experiences we had with you as our guide and we really enjoyed ourselves very much. Words cannot describe our gratitude to your hospitality and the tour you planned for us. You were an amazing guide and you were so funny, making us laugh all the time. I would definitely recommend to my friends and spread words for your wonderful tours.
Aso Tour and Takachiho Tour  Alice & Family   Dec 2015 Singapore

Thanks again for the trip to Takachiho, it was really great spending the day with you, we had the best time!

It didn’t rain much in Aso the day after the tour, but it was all cloudy and foggy, we couldn’t even see the bottom of the mountains! So thanks a lot for taking a little detour on the way back to Aso and taking us to the crater, otherwise, we would not have seen anything at all. But we went to Aso shrine. It was the last one of our trip, so I really wanted to go armed with all our new knowledge, or at least with fresh eyes. I just wish we did the tour at the beginning of our trip, now I feel we must have missed so many things on the places we’ve been before (and probably offended several kamis along the way)! We have no choice, we have to come back 🙂
Takachiho Tour                                   Catherine & Thierry  Dec 2015 France
See Catherine’s full review of her trip to Takechiho on Trip Advisor

We wanted to express our appreciation for the great tour last week. Asking the kids, both said the day with you was the best in Japan. They will remember for sure the waterfall, the onsen and the rural Japan highlights of that day.
         Aso and Kurokawa Sights              Azadeh & family August 2016, Germany

Thank you so much for the photos! We are so glad to join your tour! Everything is just wonderful and makes our trip unforgettable!
          Takachiho and Aso & Kurokawa         Joanna & Pong, August 2016, Hong Kong  

We couldn’t have asked for a better guide to reveal Kumamoto’s beauty for us, and the rich and fascinating history underlying it all. It is a place we would recommend all of our friends to visit (and to get in touch with you for an incredible tour).

Takachiho and Aso & Kuju      Kenneth & Claire, November 2016, Singapore  

We had a wonderful day: informative, pleasant, sociable. Thank you very much for your generosity, not only for taking us around Aso but also for helping us become a little less ignorant about Japan and its people.

Around Aso      Peter & Marie, November 2016, UK and Canada


Thank you for the fantastic tour on that day. We enjoyed every single moment even in the rain. We will definitely recommend it to our friends.
Takachiho      Raphael & Bernard, November 2016, Singapore

Just wanted to say thank you for a great tour, it was a fantastic day! You were a very great guide!

Samurai Swords      Helen & Christian, November 2016, Sweden

Thank you for sharing such a unique experience with us.  You have a gift and are definitely in your element.
How I wished too we could’ve dragged you along to Takachiho. Would’ve loved to have heard more tidbits abt the area from your wealth of knowledge.  Loved it there, too.  The boats were fun and the walk to the cave with all the stones was awesome.  Stopped to dine at the first stall as you exit the cave walk and the food and apple/? combo ice cream cone was DELISH!!  Almost as good as the sweet potato mochi we bought on your tour.  (We ended up eating that every day in Kumamoto –altho you are right. The Suizenji Park vendor is the BEST!!)
But now back to the grind of the real world as you go about your enviable explorations!  Japan has proven such a fascinating (and tasty!) destination once again and we have you to thank in part for that lasting memory !
Samurai Swords      Merry and group , November 2016, Hawaii

 For some more recent reviews take a look at the Trip Advisor link on the right.

Scroll to Top