Aso Caldera and Farm Experience Tour

Max met me at Kurokawa Onsen at my accommodation. We proceeded to visit a local shitake farm where I learned much about the traditional method of growing shitake on oak wood, and very much enjoyed the shitake grilled over charcoal fire. My apologies for not remembering the name of the farmer, but his family has farmed shitake for three generations. Max then took me to a lookout and showed me an amazing view of the Aso Caldera. I had not realised how immense it was and that a whole city was actually inside the caldera. Lunch was at another amazing place, where food is grilled over a charcoal fire. I highly recommend the tofu and the delicious miso paste. We finished the day at Aso Shrine, which was interesting not only for its history but also for the effort taken to reconstruct the main gate and auxiliary buildings after the great earthquake more than 10 years ago. Thank you, Max for a wonderful day.

Wonderful morning with Max. Exactly what we wanted: authenticity, a special moment with local people — in short, a really great experience. A big thank you, Max, we’ll keep amazing memories of it!

My husband and I had the best day touring with Max! He was a wonderful companion, is extremely knowledgeable about the region, yet warm and easy to be with. I can’t say enough good things about Max and our day with him! Max picked us up at our ryokan, and we explored the gorgeous Aso Caldera, stopping at several viewpoints to see the crater and enjoy the spectacular scenery. We visited the Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu shrine, an old and atmospheric shrine, a place filled with mystery and mythical legend. We walked up a long set of moss-covered steps as the sun’s rays created a magical atmosphere through the trees - a wonderful site. Finally, we had a great lunch at, Takamori Dengaku, a traditional barbecue restaurant where we grilled our food in a fire pit while we sat around it! I had initially booked the farm visit tour but, unfortunately, that tour wasn’t available but Max was willing to accommodate us and together we designed a custom tour taking in our interests. If you’re looking for a guide for Kyushu, Max is the best!

There are so many highlights of this experience! For one, travelling to the outskirts and enjoying the scenic views was amazing. The food prepared by Nuroko and Hiroko san was simple yet amazing, and it was fun harvesting yam! Max was such a lovely soul, accommodating to our needs (especially when it was raining) and was so willing to share nuggets of information about his life, how it is like in Aso and more. It was a rounded experience that I would highly recommended many to go for!

Max and Quynh took us for a farm visit and Aso lookout. The farm had 2 really cute ponies and we had great fun harvesting yam and daikon with Noriko and preparing our farm to table lunch with the family. Weather was good and we had a great view at the lookout.

Max picked us up from the Ryokan we were staying at and drove us to a local village. A lovely couple then welcomed us into their home. We started off by getting the rice cooking on the stove, then we walked to a field and dug up some potatoes and then picked some spinach. They then helped us prepare the potatoes, spinach, and some mushrooms for lunch. We then sat down to eat the meal together. Lunch also included homemade tofu and miso soup, among many other small dishes. It was heartwarming to be able to talk to the Japanese couple with Max interpreting for us. It was the best food we have eaten in Japan. Max then drove us to a lookout point so we could see the Aso Caldera, and we got some lovely photos. I couldn't recommend this experience more