RV park facilities ideal for sightseeing in Yamaga Park your car and enjoy Yamaga on foot.
This is the nation's first urban RV park using the parking lot of Onsen Plaza Yamaga, located in the center of Yamaga City. You can park your RV here and take a bath at the Yamaga Onsen Sakurayu right next door. Turn right at the Hiro-machi intersection to Yamaga Lantern Folk Art Museum and Yachiyo-za Theater. Turning left at the Hiro-machi intersection will take you to the long-established sake brewery, Chiyono-en Sake Brewery, and the hot spring resort area. All of these areas are rich in emotion and retain the appearance of the Toyozen Highway, which was used by the shogunate during the Edo period (1615-1868). There are many choices of restaurants and a convenience store is just a short walk away. This is a great spot to stay in a car, with everything within walking distance.
RV Park Yamaga Basic Information
Location
1, Yamaga, Yamaga, Kumamoto 861-0501, Japan (parking lot on the north side of Onsen Plaza Yamaga)
A playhouse that conveys the style of the Edo period. Ceiling paintings that retain Meiji era advertising paintings.
In an era when the entertainment industry was scarce, there were many playhouses throughout Japan. The Yachiyoza Theater in Yamaga City is one of them. It was built in 1910 by local masters who raised shares. It inherited the style of traditional playhouses of the Edo period, and the ceiling above the seats was painted with advertising pictures of the merchants who invested in the theater at that time. However, after the 1960s, the number of performances decreased due to the spread of movies and television. The theater also became dilapidated. However, through fund-raising activities by citizens, the building was gradually renovated, and in 1988, it was designated as a National Important Cultural Property. In 1990, Tamasaburo Bando began to perform regularly at the theater, and it was completely restored. Tamasaburo put an end to his Yachiyo-za performances in 2022. The Yachiyo-za Theater is open to the public as an important tourist resource of Yamaga City, and visitors can tour the theater, including the nara (except on event days). (except on event days).
admission fee Visit to Yachiyo-za Theater and Museum High school students and older: 530 yen, elementary and junior high school students: 270 yen In the case of an event, etc., only at the museum High school students and older: 220 yen, elementary and junior high school students: 110 yen
The dance of 1,000 dancers, with their graceful dances and swaying gold and silver lanterns, is an amazing world of fantasy!
On August 15 and 16 every year, women in matching yukata (light cotton kimono) dance gracefully, saying "Yoheho, yoheho. Above their heads are Yamaga lanterns, a traditional craft made of only Japanese paper and glue. The origin of the Yamaga Lantern Festival is said to date back to the 12th Emperor Keiko's pilgrimage to Yamaga. The origin of the festival is said to date back to the 12th Emperor Keiko's pilgrimage to Yamaga, when villagers of Yamaga led the Emperor and his party, who were stranded in a thick fog, with torches held aloft. In the Muromachi period (1333-1573), the "Yamaga Lantern Dance," in which women dance with paper golden lanterns on their heads, was born. On August 15, a Shinto ritual of "decoration of votive lanterns" will be held at Omiya Shrine, and after the dedication of the lantern dance, a fireworks display will be held along the Kikuchi River; on August 16, a torchlight procession of Emperor Keiko will parade through the town, and a thousand lantern dance will be held at the Yamaga Elementary School ground next to Omiya Shrine. The sight of 1,000 women dancing with lanterns on their heads is fantastic and breathtaking.
address (e.g. of house)
Omiya Shrine / 196 Yamaga, Yamaga City, Kumamoto Prefecture Yamaga Elementary School / 351 Yamaga, Yamaga City, Kumamoto Prefecture
Yamaga's famous temple of cherry blossoms and azaleas has a giant Nadehoto Buddha and a pagoda for the remains of Ako Roshi (Ako Ronin)
Nichirinji Temple was founded in the Heian period (794-1185) as a Tendai sect temple, and was converted to the Soto sect in the Kamakura period (1185-1333). Since then, the temple has been generously patronized by successive lords. The temple is also known for its approximately 200 cherry trees and 35,000 azalea plants. In 1969, while building an azalea nursery garden on the hill behind the temple, the Ryuohzan burial mound, which dates back to the early Kofun period, was discovered. On the hill behind the burial mound stands a giant petting Buddha, "Obinzuru-sama," which rises at an angle. There are many historical sites within the grounds of the temple, and the hair pagoda is particularly famous for housing the hair of Yoshio Kurasuke Oishi and the other 17 Ako Ronin who were under the custody of the Hosokawa Clan. The "Yoshishi Festival" is held every year on February 4, the anniversary of the death of the Yoshishi. There is also a vegetarian restaurant, Tokidokoro Namu, where visitors can taste authentic vegetarian cuisine using wild vegetables and sesame tofu picked in the mountains by the priest himself. Reservations are required.
Kumamoto Prefecture is a Mecca for Decorated Kofun Tombs? If you are a fan of ancient burial mounds and ancient history, this is the place for you!
There are approximately 700 decorative kofun tumuli in Japan, with designs and paintings on the inside and outside of sarcophagi, stone chambers, and side tombs, and about 30% of these, or about 200, are concentrated in Kumamoto Prefecture, mainly in the Kikuchi River basin. The Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Ornately Decorated Kofun Tumuli serves as a specialized museum for the protection, utilization, and research of "ornately decorated kofun" tumuli. The building, designed by Tadao Ando, is modeled on the shape of a posterior round burial mound, and is built so that it is point-symmetrically opposite to the Iwahara Futagozuka burial mound, one of the largest posterior round burial mounds in Kumamoto Prefecture, located on the site. Inside the museum, visitors can see a faithful reproduction of the interior of the decorative burial mound, and artifacts excavated from the Pre-Paleolithic Period to the Middle Ages are also on display. Visitors can also try their hand at making kodama, or "sacred beads," a type of clay tablet. There is also an outdoor "haniwa park," a parkway where visitors can enjoy walking among the tombs, and the Iwahara Yokonana Tombs on the plateau wall, making it a must-see for fans of ancient burial mounds.
address (e.g. of house)
3085 Iwahara, Shikao Town, Yamaga City, Kumamoto Prefecture
Don't miss the ancient lotus "Ooga," which bloomed from a seed about 2,000 years ago!
The "Shikao Ancient Forest" adjacent to the Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Decorative Tombs has two lotus gardens: a lotus garden with more than 20 species, including the light red Maihime lotus and the white Kinrin lotus, and an ancient lotus garden with the "Ohga lotus". The "Ohga Lotus" was germinated from lotus seeds unearthed in Chiba Prefecture by botanist Ichiro Ohga. It is called the "Ancient Lotus" because the seeds were from a lotus plant estimated to be 2,000 years old. It is bright pink in color and about the size of a human head. There is also a water lily near the product center. Don't forget to visit the sunflower field next to the Ancient Forest Park.
address (e.g. of house)
2965 Iwahara, Shikao Town, Yamaga City, Kumamoto Prefecture
Aiming for Kumamoto Whisky to Spread its Wings to the World
The first whiskey distillery in Kumamoto Prefecture, completed in November 2021 and grand opened in April 2022, located near the "Shikao Ancient Forest. With technical support from Hombo Shuzo, the brewing water is deep groundwater from the Kunimi mountain range and the Kikuchi River system. The malt used is non-peated and heavily peated. The brewery aims to create a clean but strong whiskey with a core quality as a whiskey that will spread its wings to the world. Tours of the production process are free of charge and reservations are not required. There is also a lounge where you can enjoy "new pot (original sake)" and original coffee, and a store where you can purchase products and original goods.
address (e.g. of house)
980-1 Gozato, Shikao Town, Yamaga City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan
