A postcard from Aso Boy - Mount Aso, Kumamoto, Kyushu

Aso Boy: a 5-minute stop at Aso Station

I was fortunate enough to be travelling on a National Holiday from Kumamoto, towards northern Kyushu. An extra service of  "Aso Boy" was running (usually only at weekends). Of course I grabbed the chance to ride on this 'grand tour' slow train, over the Aso Caldera to Beppu!

It's a slow chugger of a train (not sure if that is the correct techinical description!) with a kids' play area (I avoided) as well as a cafe, taking four hours to climb up & across this active volcanic caldera - erupted last month!

Spectacular views if you take even a local service, but the frontmost or rearmost seats of Aso Boy are very well worth booking, well-ahead of travel time. There's only one service a day (in either direction). There are uninterrupted views of the panoramas as they unfold, as the driver's position is above & behind you, so I recommend clicking away, as every bend unveils another breathtaking gorge or rural view, surging river or cloud-studded skies across forbidding peaks. 

Stark skyline of Mount Aso

I loved the slow reveal of the countryside, with life in the fertile caldera carrying on as usual while some heads were turned by our iconic chariot! Of course you can drive up & around the area yourself (beware, it snows up here!) but why not sit back with a coffee & treat yourself? Cheaper than the blisteringly fast shinkansen, and obviously slower...which is just the way travel some times. 

What's your favourite 'secret' train line/trip in Japan?

Enjoy Kyushu

 You think Kyushu is far from Matsumoto, don’t you? It’s true it’s a long way, but if you take a flight, it takes only an hour and a half from Matsumoto airport to Fukuoka, and from there to the Shinkansen station, Hakata, is only fifteen minutes. My plane took off from Matsumoto airport at 15:30, and I arrived in Kumamoto at 18:00. It is not far!

 

Kumamoto is a pleasant city, not too big, not too small; just right medium size. There is a beautiful castle in the center of city, nostalgic trams trundle around, and there are lots of green spaces even in the city centre.

 

JR Kyushu runs some interesting special trains services. These are completely different from regular trains. Most of these kinds of trains were designed by Etsuji Mitooka, who is a great industrial designer. These trains are eye-catching on the outside, and inside have amazing designs and original styling. One of them has a bar in the train car, another has sofas and bookshelves; there are also lovely mummy & kids’ chairs, wonderful viewing decks, etc.

The inside of "Aso-boy"

 

I experienced the journey from Kumamoto to Beppu aboard “Asoboy”. As a passenger, you can spoil yourself with original food, buy branded souvenirs and be treated to special service. In the train, there are some play spaces for children and lovely pair seats for children and parent. I enjoyed the panoramic view of Mount Aso from the high viewing seats. The friendly crew offered to take memorial photographs for travelers. It was an exciting, lovely experience. I enjoyed a lot.

 

On this trip I realized again how wonderful Kyushu is, especially abundant with beautiful waters. You can enjoy a wide variety of amazing hot springs, or “Onsen”, in places like Beppu, Yufuin and Kurokawa. You can explore unique cities and see abundant nature. Of course, the food is lovely. As I experienced, the people are calm and kind as well.

Teruki