We recently enjoyed a weekend city break to Kumamoto. Kumamoto is on the island of Kyushyu and is the second largest city. It hit international news just over a year ago as there was a large earthquake, which caused a lot of damage.

The city was nice, with some good bars and excellent places to eat. We enjoyed what I think is the world’s best pizza…covered in fresh rocket and real cheese! It was a total delight. We were also taken to a soba bar by our air b n b host, which has been serving soba on the same site since the 1870s! (We assume not by the same person…) YUM. One evening we ventured to a bar called Tea and Beer. What more could you want?! It was a British person’s dream. I was delighted to sip on a pale ale and Assam tea in unison. Utterly delicious, but rather on the pricey side…

Kumamoto also has a great old tram system that can take you all over the city. We hopped on one with the plan of going to the zoo. On arrival, we entered the zoo for a mere 200 yen and things started to seem a little odd…not only is that too cheap, but there were no maps available and the interior looked a little worse for wear. Turns out, after the earthquake, the zoo animals were moved throughout Japan. All you can see now are some hens in a cage…a few goats…and a small child’s theme park. The gardens have been basically abandoned too, so all in all, perhaps not one on the recommended list…

A more successful trip was to Suizen-ji, a Japanese garden. Here we enjoyed strolling around the pristine garden. We got to enjoy some tasty iced matcha tea and cakes too! It was extremely relaxing, if 35 degrees and boiling hot…

Kumamoto was a weekend trip to meander down the unique streets, drink delicious coffee, and eat nice food. There is not a huge amount in the city for tourists, especially since the earthquake, but we enjoyed a very relaxing weekend nonetheless! Thanks Kumamoto!