Kurume Station. A small but very beautiful station featuring colourful stained glass windows and an interior design that appears almost like a church. There are a few interesting attractions located quite close to the station eg. The Suitengu Shrine and the Kurume Castle Ruins which I’ll be posting up soon. The JR Shinkansen and Rail is connected here and you can go north towards Hakata or South towards Kumamoto, it is also connected to the Kyudai Line if you’re heading out east towards Ukiha, Hita, Yufuin or Oita.

The Kyudai Line via the ‘One Man’ 2 carriage train (ワンマン) was partially suspended due to heavy rainfall and flooding that happened many months ago but I think it’s back on track and fully operational. Please keep in mind this service isn’t as frequent as other major lines in Japan so it’s a good idea to check the timetable before adventuring off. You can see in my picture (2nd to last) the next train showing after 12:13 is 13:08, yes, that’s 55 minutes! But, I’ve seen earlier trains with 20-30 minute intervals. If you’re simply going into town then I would highly suggest catching the local bus.

—Tofu