Youth PIA Kumamoto

Kumamoto


Away from the town centre, this institutional-looking hostel has dorms and private rooms (Japanese and Western style) and a 10pm curfew. There's a supermarket on the ground floor. Wi-fi is available on the 1st floor only. No credit cards.

It's several minutes' walk from the train and tram stops.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Kumamoto attractions

1. Suizenji-jōjuen

0.45 MILES

Southeast of the city centre, this photogenic lakeside garden was built between 1636 and 1716 for the ruling Hosokawa clan. The main path represents the…

2. Lafcadio Hearn's House

1.45 MILES

Irish-Greek immigrant Lafcadio Hearn (aka Koizumi Yakumo; 1850–1904) became one of the foremost interpreters of Japanese culture for the outside world. He…

4. Sōseki Memorial Hall

1.77 MILES

Meiji-era novelist Natsume Sōseki (1867–1916) is honoured at the pretty 1870s home where he lived during his four years teaching English in Kumamoto. The…

5. Kumamoto-jō

1.79 MILES

Dominating the skyline, Kumamoto's robust castle is one of Japan's best, built in 1601–07 by daimyō Katō Kiyomasa, whose likeness is inescapable around…

7. Tenshūkaku

1.83 MILES

The castle's soaring black Tenshūkaku (main building, 29.5m tall) is today a historical museum with 6th-storey lookouts. The tower was closed at the time…

8. Honmaru Palace

1.84 MILES

The 2008 reconstruction of the Honmaru Palace fairly gleams with fresh wood and gold-leaf paintings, particularly in the Sho-kun-no-ma receiving room…