Hitoyoshi

Hitoyoshi (人吉) is the southernmost city of Kumamoto prefecture, Japan. It is famous for its river fog from late autumn to early spring, kuma shochu spirits, and ayu or sweetfish.

Tourist information sites

 * The local tourist association has a Japanese-only guide site. with integrated Google Translate.


 * The adjacent Asagiri Town has a bilingual guide site for the area.

By train
Hitoyoshi is a terminal stop on the JR Hisatsu Line.

Three Limited Express trains make daily round-trip runs between Kumamoto and Hitoyoshi: The Kawasemi (かわせみ) and the Yamasemi (やませみ). These trains make the run to Hitoyoshi in 90 minutes and cost ¥3190 each way.

Kumamoto connects to Hakata in Fukuoka via Shinkansen (45 minutes; ¥4480). From Kagoshima you can take the Shinkansen to Shin-Yatsushiro, and change to the limited express for Hitoyoshi. Local trains also run from the old Yatsushiro station to Hitoyoshi (70 minutes; ¥1080).

You can also ride the popular Steam Locomotive Hitoyoshi on weekends and some holidays. Unlike most other SL trains in Japan, tickets usually sell out well in advance. You can ride this train using a JR Pass, but you can not reserve a ticket, that will use the pass, until you have been issued your pass (after you are in Japan).

By car
It is 1.5 hours from Kumamoto via the Expressway.

By Bus
From Kumamoto it is 1.5 hours by the bus that goes to Miyazaki via Hitoyoshi or to Kagoshima City. It is 1 hour by bus from Kagoshima Airport

Sleep
Many of the hotels with hot springs are along the Kuma river.



Go next

 * Kuma
 * Nishiki
 * Yamae
 * Sagara (Kumamoto)
 * Yatsushiro
 * Ebino
 * Yusui
 * Isa
 * Kirishima