Kumamoto Prefecture

Kyushu & Okinawa region · Prefecture

Kumamoto Prefecture is the "Land of Fire," blessed with Mt. Aso, which has one of the largest calderas (volcanic basins) in the world, and with abundant groundwater. Kumamoto City is a rare city in Japan that supplies all of its tap water from groundwater. The prefecture's production of tomatoes and watermelons ranks 1st in Japan.

Mt. Aso
Kumamoto Castle
Kumamon
Basashi (raw horse meat)

Key facts

Prefectural capital: Kumamoto City
Municipalities: 45 (14 cities, 23 towns, 8 villages)
Population: 1,677,302 23rd in Japan2025 Census
5-year change: −3.5% 34th in Japanfrom 1,738,301 in 2020
Area: 7,409 km² 15th in Japan
Population density: 226 people/km² 26th in Japan

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 47 prefectures, ordered by this site from these values.

Places to know

Kumamoto City Kumamoto Castle, one of the Three Great Castles of Japan, and the Suizen-ji Joju-en garden.
Aso City The crater of Mt. Naka at Aso and vast grasslands.
Amakusa City Dolphin watching in the Amakusa Islands, and Sakitsu Village.

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Places to visit in Kumamoto Prefecture

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Museums and art museums14

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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).

National parks in Kumamoto Prefecture

Aso-Kuju National ParkTotal park area 763 km²Also in Oita
Unzen-Amakusa National ParkTotal park area 283 km²Also in Nagasaki, Kagoshima

Chosen by overlaying the park boundaries (Ministry of the Environment, Biodiversity Center of Japan, "National Park Areas" GIS data, updated April 28, 2025, combined and simplified by NIPPON ATLAS) with municipal boundaries (National Land Numerical Information, January 2021), keeping overlaps of about 0.5 km² or more (approximate). Areas are the land areas from the Ministry of the Environment, "Overview of National Parks" (April 10, 2026). All national parks

Municipalities in Kumamoto Prefecture (45)

Municipality	Population	5-year change	Area
Kumamoto City	730,882	−1.1%	390 km²
Yatsushiro City	115,362	−6.3%	681 km²
Hitoyoshi City	28,779	−7.5%	211 km²
Arao City	47,306	−6.9%	57.37 km²
Minamata City	20,782	−11.8%	163 km²
Tamana City	60,524	−5.9%	152 km²
Yamaga City	45,496	−7.2%	300 km²
Kikuchi City	44,706	−3.7%	277 km²
Uto City	34,542	−4.4%	74.30 km²
Kamiamakusa City	21,389	−12.9%	127 km²
Uki City	54,513	−4.4%	189 km²
Aso City	22,927	−8.0%	376 km²
Amakusa City	68,028	−10.2%	684 km²
Koshi City	64,314	+4.1%	53.19 km²
Misato Town	8,030	−14.5%	144 km²
Gyokuto Town	4,864	−3.6%	24.33 km²
Nankan Town	8,068	−10.1%	69.18 km²
Nagasu Town	14,534	−5.5%	19.44 km²
Nagomi Town	8,462	−9.4%	98.78 km²
Ozu Town	36,915	+4.9%	99.10 km²
Kikuyo Town	44,532	+2.8%	37.46 km²
Minamioguni Town	3,462	−7.7%	116 km²
Oguni Town	5,865	−11.0%	137 km²
Ubuyama Village	1,190	−13.9%	60.81 km²
Takamori Town	5,363	−7.4%	175 km²
Nishihara Village	6,826	+6.2%	77.22 km²
Minamiaso Village	9,164	−6.8%	137 km²
Mifune Town	16,527	+1.4%	99.03 km²
Kashima Town	10,080	+5.6%	16.65 km²
Mashiki Town	33,519	+3.1%	65.68 km²
Kosa Town	9,433	−6.9%	57.93 km²
Yamato Town	11,665	−13.6%	545 km²
Hikawa Town	9,972	−10.1%	33.31 km²
Ashikita Town	13,867	−11.6%	234 km²
Tsunagi Town	3,811	−10.4%	34.08 km²
Nishiki Town	9,611	−6.6%	85.04 km²
Taragi Town	7,867	−13.3%	166 km²
Yunomae Town	3,251	−10.4%	48.37 km²
Mizukami Village	1,779	−12.5%	191 km²
Sagara Village	3,768	−7.4%	94.54 km²
Itsuki Village	812	−12.8%	253 km²
Yamae Village	2,914	−10.0%	121 km²
Kuma Village	2,263	−7.0%	208 km²
Asagiri Town	13,188	−10.1%	160 km²
Reihoku Town	6,150	−13.6%	67.58 km²

Source: Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2025 Population Census (population in 2025; change compared with 2020). Area: GSI (2025). Designated cities are shown as one city (wards combined). "Temperature now" is the latest JMA AMeDAS observation (preliminary) at the nearest station in the same prefecture, loaded and shown unchanged when you open the page.

Figures come from official Japanese statistics (such as the 2025 Census by the Statistics Bureau of Japan), with the source and year shown next to each one. Photos are freely licensed images from Wikimedia Commons; the photographer and license are shown under each photo.

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