Photo: 水だらけのプール / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Kumamoto City
Kumamoto Prefecture · City
- Designated city
- Prefectural capital
Official websiteKumamoto Prefecture page
Kumamoto City, capital of Kumamoto Prefecture, is a designated city (major city with special powers) and Kyushu's third most populous. It grew as the castle town of the Hosokawa clan's Kumamoto Domain, around Kumamoto Castle built by Kato Kiyomasa. It has Suizen-ji Joju-en garden, Reigando cave, where Miyamoto Musashi wrote The Book of Five Rings, and springs like Lake Ezu.
Key facts
Source: Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2025 Population Census (population, area and density); area from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI), Area Statistics of Prefectures and Municipalities (2025). National ranks are among the 1,741 municipalities, ordered by this site from these values.
Live information
Current weather (observed)
Places to visit
CastleKumamoto Castlecastle
GardenSuizen-ji Joju-enJapanese garden located in Suizen-ji Park
CaveReigandocave in Japan
Shinto shrineKengun ShrineShinto shrine in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan
Buddhist templeHonmyo-ji TempleBuddhist temple in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan
MuseumKumamoto Prefectural Museum of Artmuseum in Japan
GardenKumamoto City Zoological and Botanical Gardenszoo in Kumamoto, Japan
Shinto shrineFujisaki HachimanguShinto shrines in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan
Shopping centerAmu Plaza Kumamotocommercial complex in Kumamoto, Kumamoto, Japan
Shinto shrineKato ShrineShinto shrine in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan
Shopping centerYouMe Town Hamasen (Shopping center)
Buddhist templeDaiji-ji TempleBuddhist temple in Minami-ku, Kumamoto, Japan
Roadside station (Michi-no-Eki)Michi-no-Eki Suika-no-sato Uekiroadside station in Kumamoto, Kumamoto prefecture, Japan
Chosen automatically, most popular first, from landmarks and cultural properties registered in Wikidata (we have not checked whether each is open). Names and descriptions: Wikidata (CC0); photos: Wikimedia Commons (photographer and license under each photo).
Neighboring municipalities
Municipalities sharing a boundary (computed from the National Land Numerical Information administrative boundaries, January 2021).
Other municipalities in Kumamoto Prefecture
The description was written for this site, picking out representative features.