Local Guide
7 recommended sightseeing spots in the Aso area where you can play with children

The Aso/Kujyu area is located in the eastern part of Kumamoto Prefecture, near the border with Oita and Miyazaki Prefectures. The area boasts a vast expanse of nature, and there are many spots where children can spend a carefree time. There are attractions that make the most of the large area, various animal encounters, horseback riding, hot springs, and even parks. Here are seven spots to enjoy with your children.

Lots of tricks for fun and exercise!

The
The "Grief Climb" at the entrance to the "Forest of Genki no Mori". The trail is bumpy, and you can get some exercise while having fun!

This sightseeing spot in Minami Aso Village covers an area of about 1 million square meters. As a health promotion park supervised by health experts, visitors can enjoy attractions and lunch. The "Genki no Mori" Exercise Property has about 70 types of exercise equipment in a 10,000-square-meter area that takes advantage of natural forests and valleys. There are three-dimensional "twisting paths," "pipelines" to go through and over pipes, and even labyrinths and sliders....
Children, adults, and the elderly can all enjoy exercising while using their physical strength and brains. In addition, there is the "Genki Challenge Property," an all-weather exercise facility where families can challenge themselves in a giant maze and other devices.

A lot of tricks for exercising while having fun.

Visitors can enjoy interacting with rare maras. The warmth of these friendly animals will soothe your soul.
Visitors can enjoy interacting with rare maras. The warmth of these friendly animals will soothe your soul.

The "Fureai Animal Kingdom" on the grounds is home to about 35 species of animals, including capybaras, maras, and flamingos, all living in a relaxed atmosphere. Although there are no large animals such as elephants or giraffes, visitors can experience healing and learning through interacting with and feeding the small animals.
There are also many other spots where children can be fascinated, such as "Omoshiro Fishing Land" where they can enjoy catch-and-release of fish and "Omoshiro Aquarium Aqua", a small aquarium.

Local Guide Comment
At O Aso Restaurant, a healthy buffet restaurant supervised by a nutritionist, the calories and nutrients in the dishes are displayed. You can enjoy a healthy buffet!
Aso Genki no Mori (Aso Farmland)
  • Address 5579-3 Kawayo, Minamiaso-mura, Aso-gun, Kumamoto MAP
  • Direction Approximately 40 minutes by car from Aso Kumamoto Airport
  • Hours of Operation 9:00-17:00 *Vary according to Property and day of the week
  • Closed None
  • Admission fee Free admission
    ［Genki Challenge Pavilion: Adults 1,000 yen, Children 600 yen
    ［Infant Challenge Pavilion] 1,000 yen for adults, 1,200 yen for children
    ［Physical Age Measurement Pavilion] 1,500 yen for adults, 800 yen for children
    ［Dome reduction bath] 1,800 yen for adults, 800 yen for children
    ［Magma Clay Spa] (for women only): Adults: 3,600 yen
    ［Oxygen Dome] 1,100 yen
    Other facilities
  • TEL 0967-67-2100
  • Parking Free of charge

The only place in Kyushu where you can hold a baby bear in your arms!

The
The "Experience of petting the bears" starts at 11:30 and 14:30 (500 yen per couple). Numbered tickets are distributed 15 minutes prior to the day of the event (first-come, first-served).

In this animal theme park, visitors can meet bears from around the world and a variety of other animals in the magnificent location of Aso. Of particular note is the "Koguma (black bear) Experience," which is the only one of its kind in Kyushu, where visitors can hold a baby black bear between the ages of 0 and 1 and take a commemorative photo. This is a precious experience where you can even feel the fur and breath of the baby bears.
In addition, about 150 bears of six species, including Japanese black bears, grizzlies, and Yezo brown bears, live in "Bear Valley," and you can give them treats. The bears are cute, waving their hands and begging for treats!

There are also animal shows and petting zoo!

At the
At the "Little Animals Plaza," visitors can interact with alpacas, ostriches, guinea pigs, rabbits, and other small animals.

There are many other spots in the park where you can interact with animals. In addition to the "Chibikko Dobutsu Hiroba" where you can interact with many animals, there is also "Penguin Falls" where you can feed penguins at close range, "Capybara Pond," "Mae Mae Plaza," and "Binturong Forest," where you can enjoy rare animals up close.
In addition, be sure to enjoy the "Miyazawa Theater," an animal show performed by the chimpanzee Puddin-chan. This is a spot where you can enjoy animals all day long.

Local Guide Comment
At the park's "Cuddly Hall," you can also enjoy an animal performance show by three trainers and various animals such as dogs and parrots!
Aso Cuddly Dominion
  • Address 2163 Kurokawa, Aso City, Kumamoto Prefecture MAP
  • Direction 18 min. walk from JR Aso Station
  • Business Hours Summer (March 14-October 10) 9:30-17:00 (Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays: ~17:30)
    Winter (October 11 - March 13) 10:00 - 16:30
  • Closed Wednesdays from December to February (except winter vacation and national holidays)
  • Admission Fee Adults (high school students and older) 2,400 yen
    Elementary/junior high school students: 1,300 yen
    Infants (3 years old and up) 700 yen
  • TEL 0967-34-2020
  • Parking Free of charge

You can have fun interacting with the animals in the farm!

At the
At the "Animal Petting Plaza," visitors can feed goats, sheep, and ponies.

This 330,000-square-meter sightseeing ranch is located on a grassland at an altitude of about 450 meters above sea level in Nishihara Village. It is a place where visitors can learn about "dairy farming" and enjoy the experience. The "Makiba Experience" is popular among children. At the "Animal Petting Plaza," visitors can feed goats and other animals and interact with dogs, guinea pigs, and mice. Visitors can also see black pigs and sheep walking around, touch donkeys, and get a close-up look at the world's five largest dairy cows (Holstein, Jersey, Gandhi, Ayrshire, and Brown Swiss) through a fence.

Milk-squeezing Experience and Animal Races are Popular!

Cow milking experience
Cow milking experience" from 1:00 p.m. (300 yen, includes a 200 ml bottle of original milk, for ages 4 and up), available from 12:45 p.m. to 12:55 p.m.

In addition, there are many fun experiences and events. The "Cow Milking Experience" is a popular daily event where visitors can actually touch the cows. In addition, the "Waku Waku Race," where you can win the first or second place in an animal race run by goats, sheep, and other animals, is held twice a day (free of charge).
Pony rides on drawn horses (from 500 yen) and a tractor bus (200 yen per person) that tours around the grounds can be enjoyed throughout the spacious farm. Children will be busy playing on the large grass field and playground equipment.

Local Guide Comment
There is also a factory tour zone where you can see the cheese production process through a glass window. The delicious cheese sold at the store is irresistible!
Raraguno Mothers Aso Milk Ranch
  • Address 3944-1 Kawahara, Nishihara-mura, Aso-gun, Kumamoto MAP
  • Direction Approx. 20 min. by car from Aso Kumamoto Airport
  • Business hours Open 10:00-17:00
  • Closed Varies according to season (check the business calendar on the website)
  • Admission Fee Admission 400 yen (3 years old and up)
  • TEL 096-292-2100
  • Parking Free of charge

A small zoo in the great nature of Oku Aso

When you scratch the capybaras with a stir stick, they look surprisingly enraptured and let themselves go!
When you scratch the capybaras with a stir stick, they look surprisingly enraptured and let themselves go!

This small zoo was built on the site of an old cattle barn deep in the mountains of Takamori-cho in the Oku-Aso area. It is a popular spot for families in Kumamoto Prefecture to interact with the 200 animals of about 25 different species living in a relaxed atmosphere both indoors and outdoors.
The most appealing feature of the zoo is that humans can enter the fences where the animals live. Birds such as flamingos and chickens, as well as pigs, donkeys, rabbits, llamas, deer, and even a tortoise, walk around freely in their own space, so visitors can enjoy scratching them with a paddle or walking with them at close range.

You can directly interact with almost all animals!

You can stroll through the park where the animals live at their leisure.
You can stroll through the park where the animals live at their leisure.

In addition, indoors, visitors can feed goats, touch chicks, and enjoy touching and feeding rabbits and guinea pigs on their knees. Children under 3 years old can even climb on the shell of a large tortoise.
The animals live in an environment full of love for animals, and they are all calm and accustomed to people. Staff/staff members also frequently visit the facility to teach visitors about the animals and tips on how to interact with them, so they can enjoy communicating with the animals without fear.

Local Guide Comment
This is a hole-in-the-wall spot deep in the mountains of Aso. You will be healed by the animals that spend their time in a relaxed atmosphere amidst the magnificent scenery that is typical of Aso!
Minami Aso Fureai Zoo Fairytale
  • Address 2408-1 Oaza-Shikimi, Takamori-cho, Aso-gun, Kumamoto MAP
  • Direction Approximately 40 minutes by car from Aso Kumamoto Airport
  • Business Hours 10:00-17:00 *Weekdays from Nov. to Mar.
  • Closed Thursdays *Wednesdays and Thursdays from November to March, no vacations during GW and long vacations
  • Admission fee 600 yen (3 years old and up)
  • TEL 0967-62-2613
  • Parking Free of charge

Private hot spring baths that can be used safely with children

Hime
Hime" has a fun outdoor hot spring with a slide. The indoor bath is a bathtub incorporating bedrock.

Located in the "Cosgiri Resort" along Route 57 in Aso City, where there is a golf course and a buffet restaurant, "Yurayura" is a rental hot spring property specializing in private baths where visitors can enjoy hot spring baths in a single room without worrying about their surroundings, and is popular among visitors with children.
All of the 15 private baths are elaborately designed. In particular, the "Princess" room, which has an outdoor bath with a slide, and the "Kaede" room, which has a heart-shaped indoor bathtub, are popular among children. There are also five rooms with tatami mats in the washrooms, making them safe for children and babies.

Toy rental and other services are also available!

Kaede
Kaede" has a bathtub, tubs, and chairs all in the shape of a heart. It is equipped with a TV and a toilet, so it is safe even for children.

There are three types of bathrooms: Indoor bath only, indoor bath + Outdoor hot spring, and Suite room. Three of the rooms are equipped with a TV monitor in the changing room for watching DVDs. If you wish, you can borrow bath toys at the reception desk, and there are many ways to keep children occupied. On the premises, there is a kids' space where children can spend time while waiting or after bathing, and a restroom with a diaper changing table.
The hot spring water is sodium-magnesium-sulfate hot spring, and is free-flowing. The hot spring water is gentle on children's skin, and even adults are enchanted by the moist feeling after bathing, which is one of its major attractions.

Local Guide Comment
The "Natural Food Buffet Otohime no Mori" is a popular buffet restaurant where you can enjoy the tastes of Aso to your heart's content. There is also a lunch package that offers a discount if you use both the hot spring and the restaurant!
Aso Otohime Hot Spring Yura Healing
  • Address Cosgiri Resort, 2052-3 Otohime, Aso, Kumamoto MAP
  • Direction 5 min. drive from JR Uchimaki Stn.
  • Business Hours 11:00 - 24:00
    Sundays and national holidays: 9:30-22:00
  • Closed No holidays
  • Admission fee 2,000 yen for indoor hot spring only, 3,000 yen for indoor hot spring + Outdoor hot spring, 4,300 yen for Suite room
    (Both are 70 min. on weekdays, 60 min. on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays)
  • TEL 0967-32-5526
  • Parking Free of charge

Tunnel decorated with fun decorations all year round

Water gushing from deep inside the tunnel flows into the waterway, creating a cool air.
Water gushing from deep inside the tunnel flows into the waterway, creating a cool air.

Located in Takamori-cho in the Oku-Aso area, this is a spot where a tunnel dug for the old Japanese National Railways tracks has been turned into a park. The tunnel is 2,055 meters long, of which 550 meters are open to the public. Inside, water gushes out at a rate of about 32 tons per minute and flows through a channel inside the tunnel. The spring water acts as a natural air conditioner, creating cool temperatures in summer and warm temperatures in winter.
Although the tunnel is dark, it is always decorated with vivid illuminations, including decorations for events and those made by local children, which make visitors feel excited. Children also feel like cave explorers as they walk deeper into the tunnel.

There is also a spot outside the tunnel where you can play with water

The trick fountain
The trick fountain "Water Pearl" is located at the far end of the tunnel. Water pearls ascending...?

The tunnel also has a water source that flows like a waterfall from a rock object that has been dug out, and an illuminated spot surrounded by mirrors. And at the far end, visitors can enjoy the "Water Pearl," a ball of water as round as a pearl that flows, stops, rises, and moves mysteriously.
Water gushing from the tunnel flows to the canal outside the tunnel, and visitors can also enjoy playing in the water in one of the canals, so don't forget to change your children's clothes in the hot season. In addition, fountains here and there will entertain you.

Local Guide Comment
The "Tanabata Festival" is usually held in July, and the "Christmas Fantasy" is held from mid-November to December.
Takamori Spring Tunnel Park
  • Address 1034-2 Takamori, Takamori-cho, Aso-gun, Kumamoto MAP
  • Direction Approximately 40 minutes by car from Aso Kumamoto Airport
  • Business Hours April-October: 9:00-18:00
    November - March: 9:00-17:00
  • Closed Closed on weekends and holidays
  • Admission fee Adults (junior high school students and older): 300 yen
    Elementary school students: 100 yen
    Free for children under elementary school age
    Water play outside the tunnel is free.
  • TEL 0967-62-3331（Yusuikan)
  • Parking Free of charge

A rare spot where horseback riding is available for children as young as one year old!

An opportunity for parents and children to ride horses side by side is very rare. Being able to ride a horse by yourself will give your child a boost of self-confidence.
An opportunity for parents and children to ride horses side by side is very rare. Being able to ride a horse by yourself will give your child a boost of self-confidence.

This is the only horse-riding ranch in the Hisazumi Plateau. Families are attracted by the fact that horseback riding is available for children as young as one year old. 1-6 year olds can ride with an adult, and children above the first grade can ride by themselves. Moreover, the horses are not pulled, but rather ridden through the prairie.
A skilled and certified instructor accompanies the children, and the horses are American Quarter Horses, gentle horses that are accustomed to children. Children who were scared at first will soon get used to the horses and enjoy spending precious time with them.

Horseback riding on the prairie is an exhilarating experience for both children and adults!

Children from 1 to 6 years old are accompanied by an adult. Even beginners can ride a horse safely.
Children from 1 to 6 years old are accompanied by an adult. Even beginners can ride a horse safely.

The most attractive thing about horseback riding at the ranch is that you can walk your horse on the prairie, which is not surrounded by fences. Normally, no people or cars enter the pasture, which is only accessible by horseback. There are few ups and downs, and depending on the course, you may also ride along the banks of rivers or through forests.
Above all, the seasonal changes in scenery are a major attraction: green prairies in spring and summer, silver grass and autumn leaves in fall, and black plains in early March after the burning of the fields. You can come empty-handed as long as you wear comfortable clothes such as jeans. Come and enjoy the extraordinary experience of riding a horse in the great outdoors.

Local Guide Comment
The horses here are usually released in the pasture and are raised in a stress-free environment. If you pass by the ranch in the evening, you can see the horses relaxing in the meadow from the road.
Kokopelli Western Riding
  • Address 4048 Kusumi, Kusumi Town, Taketa City, Oita Prefecture MAP
  • Direction Approximately 80 minutes by car from Aso Kumamoto Airport
  • Hours of Operation 10:00-17:00
  • Closed Open daily *Closed during inclement weather
  • Admission fee Half Trail Ride" (30 min.) 6,000 yen per person, 8,000 yen for a child and two adults
    Trail Ride" (60 minutes): 12,000 yen per person, 16,000 yen for an infant and two adults
    Horse Dragging (5 min.) 1,000 yen per person, 1,500 yen for an infant and two adults
  • TEL 090-7398-0302
  • Parking Free of charge
The information in this article is current as of the date of the update. Please check before visiting as they are subject to change.