6 Sights in Kumamoto, Japan (with Map and Images)

Kumamoto Castle is a hilltop Japanese castle located in Chūō-ku, Kumamoto, in Kumamoto Prefecture. It was a large and well-fortified castle. The castle keep is a concrete reconstruction built in 1960, but a number of ancillary wooden buildings remain of the original castle. Kumamoto Castle is considered one of the three premier castles in Japan, along with Himeji Castle and Matsumoto Castle. Thirteen structures in the castle complex are designated Important Cultural Property.

Wikipedia: Kumamoto Castle (EN), Website

A Peace Pagoda is a Buddhist stupa: a monument to inspire peace, designed to provide a focus for people of all races and creeds, and to help unite them in their search for world peace. Most, though not all, peace pagodas built since World War II have been built under the guidance of Nichidatsu Fujii (1885–1985), a Buddhist monk from Japan and founder of the Nipponzan-Myōhōji Buddhist Order. Fujii was greatly inspired by his meeting with Mahatma Gandhi in 1931 and decided to devote his life to promoting non-violence. In 1947, he began constructing Peace Pagodas as shrines to world peace. The first was inaugurated at Kumamoto in 1954.

Wikipedia: Peace Pagoda (EN)

Suizen-ji Jōju-en (水前寺成趣園) is a tsukiyama Japanese garden located within Suizen-ji Park in the eastern part of the city of Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It was built during the Edo period by the Hosokawa clan, the daimyō of Kumamoto Domain. It is commonly known as "Suizenji Park". Its area is approximately 73,000 square meters. The garden features an artificial hill which is said to be modeled after Mount Fuji. The gardens were designated a National Place of Scenic Beauty and a National Historic Site in 1929.

Wikipedia: Suizen-ji Jōju-en (EN), Website

Izumi Shrine is a shrine located in Suizenji Jojuen Garden in Chuo-ku, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. As a shrine dedicated to the successive lords of Kumamoto Domain, it was founded by former vassals in the Meiji era. The former company name was a prefectural company.

Wikipedia: 出水神社 (熊本市) (JA)

The former Hosokawa Prison Residence is a samurai residence located in the ruins of Kumamoto Jozo in Chuo Ward, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture. It is designated as an important cultural property building designated by Kumamoto Prefecture. In addition, the Hosokawa family (also known as Kokai Hosokawa) was a vassal family of the Hosokawa clan (both surnamed Nagaoka in the Edo period) along with the Hosokawa Uchizen family (Sunatori Hosokawa).

Wikipedia: 旧細川刑部邸 (JA)

Kitaoka Shrine is a shrine located at 1-chome, Kasuga, Nishi-ku, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It is said to have been founded in the Heian period by soliciting the spirits of the Gion Shrine in Kyoto, and is an ancient shrine with a history on a par with Fujisaki Hachiogu Shrine in the Kumamoto City area. The former company name was a prefectural company.

Wikipedia: 北岡神社 (JA)