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Japan
Kyushu
Kumamoto Prefecture
Kumamoto
Things to Do in Kumamoto
Kumamoto Castle
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Kumamoto Castle

See all things to do
See all things to do
Kumamoto Castle
4.5
2,744 reviews
#1 of 200 things to do in Kumamoto
Points of Interest & Landmarks • Historic Walking Areas • Castles • Scenic Walking Areas
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9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
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1-2 hours
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The area
Address
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Best nearby
Restaurants
3,510 within 3 miles
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Attractions
192 within 6 miles
Kumamoto Castle Inari Shrine
113
427 ftReligious Sites
Hinokuni Matsuri
13
300 ftCultural Events
Kumamoto Daijingu Shrine
44
526 ftReligious Sites
Kato Shrine
365
0.1 miReligious Sites
Shirohige Shrine
3
300 ftReligious Sites
Kumamoto Prefectual Traditional Crafts Center
51
0.1 miSpeciality Museums
Statues of Shonan Yokoi and Ishin
14
0.1 miMonuments & Statues
Takahashi Park
21
0.1 miParks
Tateki Tani Statue
14
0.1 miMonuments & Statues
Former Kumamoto City Hall Entrance
10
0.1 miHistoric Sites
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See what other travelers are saying
  • The landmark of Kumamoto
    🏯The landmark of Kumamoto ⛩️🏯 After the earthquake, the castle is still in the same condition. Besides, the history is displayed in every level of the castle. The one day pass of Tram can be used for entrance fee discount. FB: กินเที่ยวไม่ซ้ำ จำที่ไม่ได้ Wongnai: กินเที่ยวไม่ซ้ำ จำที่ไม่ได้
    Visited December 2022
    Traveled as a couple
    Written January 2, 2023
  • jeffayn
    Shah Alam, Malaysia685 contributions
    Amazing Castle
    This is the only castle I get to visit and spend my time in detail for this trip... It definitely worth a visit and is easily accessible with multiple walk ways and even few elavator install to make it easy access to the top of castle... Just magnificient such castle is able to be built so long ago and the architecture and standing there imagine a warlord living that way is just amazing.... Put this visit in your must go if you visiting kumamoto, dont miss it out !
    Visited March 2023
    Written March 15, 2023
  • Construct37
    Whittier, California897 contributions
    Freshly rebuilt
    Kumamoto castle just reopened a couple of months ago (as of Nov. 2022) after the rebuild from the 2016 earthquake. Because of this, the castle looks pristine and the rebuild incorporated some really interesting technology along with state of the art displays. The grounds still have a lot of work to go but even that is interesting to watch happen as they meticulously piece together the walls like the most advanced jigsaw puzzle ever.
    Visited November 2022
    Written November 23, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
2,744 reviews
Excellent
1,381
Very good
1,000
Average
301
Poor
38
Terrible
24
YUL
7 contributions
Not friendly to non Japanese, 外国人に不親切すぎます＝連れが外国人でした。殿様商売ここにありです。とても残念
Mar 2023 • Couples
We bought a package of tickets to visit The castle, the city museum and the experiencing museum.
The castle visiting was very disappointing in the sense of not foreigners friendly at all, no English explanation ( don’t ask me about French ) not in Chinese, not in Korean. No language guide service whatsoever, no earphone guide service, no languages service in person, no explanation on the wall in any other languages. Maybe 3% of what’s shown are written in English.
The city museum was little better and more interesting. About 30% of the exhibition was written in English. Some ppl working there were not very helpful either.
This is the treasure of Japan and I’m very proud of that, therefore I really hope they make more effort to be “ open “ internationally, visually and mentally, cause I saw a lot of non Japanese visitor and I want them to enjoy for what they see there.
As we left the property, there was a huge building of “ Kumamoto international association “ written in English, Korean, Chinese and in Spanish, the help is right there? Im writing this not to complain but to hope it’s opened to be shown off 😉 to the world.#kumamoto #kumamotocastle
せっかくの熊本城、英語の説明書きはほぼ皆無、フランス語は言わずもがな、中国語も韓国語もなく、ガイドさんもいなければイヤホンガイドのサービスもない。勿体ない…あれだけの観光客のどれだけの人が、本当に楽しめたのかと無念です。城から博物館に行く道を聞けば「あっちの方」としか教えてくれないおじさんも、みなもう少しだけ“オープン”になって欲しいと願う次第です．どうかお力のあるどなたかの目にも止まりますように　＃熊本城　#熊本
Written March 21, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
swisstraveller
Berne647 contributions
Very nicely renovated castle
Mar 2023 • Friends
The castle was heavily damaged in the earthqacke of 2016, but since then, parts of it have been very nicely renovated. I think it has been done in a really good way, so that you can see how the castle was before, but you also see how it has been affected by the earthqake.

The main tower of the castle with 6 levels, is also a museum and on the top level a viewing platform, and most of the exhibits are also explained in englisch. There is friendly staff to guide you, should you need help. Most of the castle is wheelchair acessible.

Infront of the castle, there is a kind of food market, which is really good fun to visit.
Written March 29, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GIT
Melbourne, Australia464 contributions
Under renovation in 2020
Jan 2020 • Couples
Not worth visiting as there are cranes shadowing the castle. Once the renovation is completed, i can imagine the visitors flocking to this attraction again. For the time being, just view the castle from afar and let them repair it first. Like many other castles that got burnt down like Himeji, they need to repair first before opening up to tourists again. Hopefully when we come back again, this castle will be up and back to its glory days.
Written January 22, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Josephliyen
Calgary, Canada813 contributions
A must do in kumamoto
Mar 2023 • Family
The app is really well put together in that you can do live subtitles of audios playing in the castle plus qr codes reading of all the Japanese writing on the wall in 4 different languages. The AR feature is kind of lame. It only has them at the top of the tenshukaku and just shows an old map of the skyline compared to now. Himeji does the AR much better.

I wish the inside is more authentic like himeji, but it is more museum like osaka. Anyways the castle is an absolute beauty, and is a well designed, constructed and defended fortress all the way to right before the world wars.

During Sakura season the hours are extended till 8pm so you can go see it with lighting and Sakura trees.
Written April 1, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dom W
18 contributions
Good experience
Oct 2020 • Friends
I went here October 1, 2020 during a lot of renovations and really could only see the castle from a distance. I didn’t have time to see the museum and other things, however, it was cool to see and I would recommend it. ¥500 entry to see castle only and ¥200 parking. Worth it.
Written October 2, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dan L
Rockville, MD9 contributions
Historical and beautiful
Dec 2022
This castle has been destroyed many times and most recently by an earthquake. It was a fascinating visit to see both the castle itself as well as the reconstruction efforts they are making. Make sure to take a nice walk around the moat. In the spring the entire are is filled with cherry blossom trees.
Written January 13, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TokyoTori
Atlanta, GA90 contributions
Kumamoto Castle is rebuilding for the future
Apr 2023 • Couples
Although Kumamoto Castle was severely damaged by a 2016 earthquake, the people of Kumamoto have rallied around the rebuilding project and have already repaired and reopened the main castle keep for visitors.
This process is worth a visit to see the new technology supporting the old structure that goes back to 1600.
Most of the final repairs will be done by 2038, which includes rebuilding the famous castle’s stone walls with the original stones that were numbered or new ones made by local craftsmen.
Ride the local trams and eat the local food in Kumamoto. You will love this place.
Written April 14, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
PEili K
Singapore, Singapore1,687 contributions
Under Renov
Feb 2020
I have no idea it was under renovation as i have visited much castles in other parts of Japan. Hence seeing the exterior is good enough. However, it was all covered up by fence that cant even see much of anything. Anyway head over to the other side of the quarters where they was a lot of food and snacks place to sit and enjoy a show or chill.
Written February 29, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Zimminaroundtheworld
Okinawa Prefecture, Japan1,861 contributions
Stunning Castle, Earthquake is Absolutely Devastating!
Feb 2021
I am a tourist so I had no idea about the earthquake that devastated Kumamoto in 2016. Still today, you can see the aftermath of the earthquake on the castle. I am so glad they are restoring it to its former beauty. You can see many areas that still have a lot of work needed but the areas that have been restored like the main keep are stunning. I find Kumamoto Castle to be one of the most beautiful in Japan. The castle and grounds are massive. I can't wait to visit again in the future when everything is back in order.
Written February 27, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
markpilks
London, UK190 contributions
Amazing. DOWNLOAD THE APP FOR ENGLISH SUBTITLES of the exhibition videos
Nov 2022 • Couples
So amazing the restoration on this amazing castle. Theres an app to download as you enter the main building - make sure you download as it helps with translation of the wonderful exhibition on the history and restoration of this castle. And the app gives English subtitles to the many, very informative videos. We needed two hours to see the castle properly. We loved it!
Written November 7, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Kumamoto Castle - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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Kumamoto Castle is open:
  • Sun - Sat 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
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