Day trip in 熊本市 Kumamoto City, Japan

Today was meant to be a relaxing day in our itinerary, and we wanted to spend the day exploring 熊本市 Kumamoto City.

As 熊本城 Kumamoto Castle suffered serious damages during the earthquake in April 2016, it was closed to public, and we could only view it from outside.

However, there were signboards to guide you to various locations for viewing and also to provide more information regarding the castle.

We ended our walking tour at 城彩苑 Josaien Castle Town, located at 桜の馬場 Sakura no Baba, near the foot of Kumamoto Castle.

Fresh drinks

ちくチーズ Cheese Chikuwa

晚甘ミルクサワー Orange Milk Sour

Freshly fried

Lots of croquette

うにコロッケ Uni Croquette

Definitely touristy, there were plenty of local souvenir options (as evident from the bus loads of tourists sweeping off the items), and also many snacks for us to buy, at the 桜の小路 Sakuranokoji Shopping Arcade 🙂

We tried the うにコロッケ Uni Croquette (¥390) that was creamy and yummy, as well as ちくチーズ Cheese Chikuwa (¥360), that was sadly not very warm. We also shared a 晚甘ミルクサワー Orange Milk Sour (¥300), which was rather refreshing.

For lunch, we visited 红蘭亭 Kourantei for its popular タイピーエン 太平燕 (¥780), and also tried out the 肉野菜蒸しぎょうざ  菜肉蒸餃子 (¥620). Taipin Yen タイピーエン originated from Fujian, China, and it is basically a type of rice vermicelli in soup. Ah, we could definitely see its Chinese origins, and it was not bad at all, and gyoza was pretty juicy :).

Post-lunch, it was chillax time at 岡田珈琲 Okada Coffee, before going to えくぼ遊食亭 Ekubo Yasyokutei for dinner.

Appetizer

お刺身3点盛り Sashimi

サザエのつぼ焼き Turbo cooked Turban Shell

串焼き盛合わせ Assorted Yakitori

地熱蒸でヘルシー豚足セイロ蒸し Healthy Pork Leg Stoked Steamed with Geothermal Steam

天草大王の手羽先 Chicken Wings

Roast Pork Leg

馬刺し盛合せ(霜降り、赤身、タテガミ、フタエゴ) Basshashi

白菜の豚バラロール蒸し Steamed Roll Chinese Cabbage with Pork Back Ribs

The main aim of having dinner here was to try out Raw Horse-meat 上馬刺し盛合せ(霜降り、赤身、タテガミ、フタエゴ) Basashi Sashimi (¥2550円). We also tried the お刺身3点盛りSashimi 3 kinds (¥880), 串焼き盛合わせ Assorted Yakitori (8 types for ¥1000), サザエのつぼ焼き Turbo cooked Turban Shell (¥780 for 2), 白菜の豚バラロール蒸し Steamed Chinese Cabbage Roll with Pork Back Ribs (¥700), 天草大王の手羽先 Chicken Wings (¥680), 地熱蒸でヘルシー豚足セイロ蒸し Healthy Pork Leg Steamed with Geothermal Steam (¥470) and Roast Pork Leg.

The food was not bad, but we still preferred 膳 Zen 😛