Natsume Pilgrimage and Hitoyoshi tour!
I just wanted to share to everyone what I experienced and tips on how I travelled to Hitoyoshi from Osaka as a solo traveller from SEA.
Overall, this 3 days 2 nights tour was so worth it. I had the best stay and believe me this just heals a lot of stuff in me. I first watched Natsume like 2009-2010 and believe me this anime holds a special place to my heart. Seeing the inspirations in person feels like such an achievement and I had to cry a little when i arrived at the bus stop since I cant believe I was able to do a diy. Anddd of course i cried again at my hotel, Ryokan Ayunasato, which btw I had a really great stay and great view of the mountains so imagine me crying while enjoying the view LOL!
Anywayyyy hahaha here you go. At first, it was so hard to plan the itinerary since commute is hard and I honestly don‘t know what to expect even after reading all the other posts in Reddit, tiktok and even Yt. Most of them were able to rent a car so it was so easy to do the tour. Here’s my in depth experience and guide to do the pilgrimage tour even if you don’t understand Nihonggo or dont have a car.
First, dont overthink the itinerary with the time and all. Just focus on the experience and feel the vibes of the place. This city has this peaceful and calming ambiance that lets you appreciate this tour.
If you are not in Kyushu, like in my case I was in Osaka for an autumn tour, book a flight to kagoshima. Make sure to also book a willer bus ticket from Kagoshima airport to Hitoyoshi IC online in advance. Once you are in Hitoyoshi, leave your stuff at the hotel and proceed to Hitoyoshi station and go to the information center. Thank you lord for her soul and knowledge and suggestions. She was also able to explain everything in English so it was easier to understand everything. She would recommend to download the natsume yuujinchou app by scanning the QR code. She will also provide a map and circle the digital stamp rally, suggests where to eat, buy souvenirs and discuss the illumination at night. So basically you now have a day and night tour to do.
Day tour is more on completing the digital stamp within the city. I highly recommend to walk around while completing it due to the place‘s ambiance while listening to some natsume yuujincho tracks. You have the option to bike to complete the stamp rally within the city and sort of the ”outside” stamp place. There are the Sanjigaharu Kannon, Ogaki Bishamondo and tengu bridge which is now open to the public. For these three places its about 7 km outside the town so you can easily do this 1-2 hours depending on your physical state.
In my case, i did the stamp rally within the city and eat some food recommendations since it was around 1:30 pm when I arrived. I wasnt in a rush so i would sometimes seat down, look at the mountains, take a picture of place and walk casually. After that, i returned to my hotel and dip my feet in the foot bath near the reception area and went upstairs to rest before I do the night tour.
Night tour is just the illumination which thank god they didn’t stop doing it.
Here, I have two recommendations. You either start at Hitoyoshi station and be there at 7:50 PM since there two light ups in this place, the light will change at 8:05 pm. After taking picture, you can now proceed to the other lights and make sure to end it near your stay. Second one is you complete the other lighting and make sure you are at hitoyoshi station at 7:50 pm and wait until 8:05 for the second one.
After this, i had dinner and took an outdoor onsen bath in the hotel and sleep.
For my second day, i took another early onsen morning bath and had breakfast. I decided to go to amemiya shrine and haruyama bus stop. Dont worry, the tourist information place will provide a time table for the bus and will guide you. If you are like me, having troubles with the bus stops, you can request them to draw it to make sure you are at the right bus stop and will ride the correct bus. Anywayyyy, even with all that hahahahahaha i rode the wrong bus from my hotel to Amemiya shrine so i decided to walk to hitoyoshi station and rode the 10 AM bus trip. Unfortunately, that delayed my itinerary so was only able to go to Amemiya shrine and returned to my hotel for a quick rest and lunch in a nearby restaurant. After eating, I went to the bike renting place suggested by the tourist information to go to the three palces thats outside the city. Im not physically fit and its been years since I rode a bicycle so it took me 3 hours for the trip with a lot of stop over and admiring the views. I meann girll, I had to take picture because it was so breathtaking and there were few cars driving the road so happy mee. Segway not related to natsume but the views in Hitoyoshi while biking was just so good. It was mountain over mountains over mountains like those drawing in ancient chinese and japanese literature or illustration. It would have been perfect if the weather was clear but nonetheless, nothing can top the view I had while riding the bike. I never thought in my life I’d be able to see it. Anyway, going back, I had a fun time taking video while riding a bike in the tengu bridge and walking while holding the bike HAHAHAH anime feels.
After this, I returned the bike to the store and took another bus to the haruyama bus stop. I kinda got anxious since this is the last trip so i definitely cannot miss the bus. Well i mean the good thing the bus stop for the rally is also the same bus stop where you’ll wait to return to hitoyoshi station. I rode the bus with the sunset views and again the insane mountain and farmland views. Exited the bus at the stop near my hotel and bought snacks and food at the supermarket since its in front of the hotel. The store in hotel is open but was not able to go to since I was so tired but the proprietess told me they have natsume yuujinchou merchandise ughhh i was just so tired that i immediately went to my room to rest and nap. Prepared my stuff since my bus trip to hakata in fukuoka is 7:38 AM. Paid the hotel and informed them of my situation so I requested for them to call a taxi at 6:30 since I’ll also check out at that time. I know this is no longer related, but I am so grateful to the hotel staff since they weren’t able to call a taxi and instead drove me to the stop using their personal car or hotel car which I only learned when they dropped me off. i wasnt sure and they werent able to explain it so when i was going to pay, they said no need. i was shocked and just thankful that i forgot to provide the money even as a tip to him. Btw the guy was so cute HAHAHAH
Just an additional note, make sure to book another bus ticket in willer in advance if you are going to kumamoto or hakata.
Anyway, thats it! HAHAHAH here’s some pictures I took with my nyanko and natsume plushie. also if you dont have a stamp book, make sure to go to the museum for it. Also, try asking the hotel staff in Ryokan Ayunasato if you can buy merchandise.
let me know if you have any questions. I forgot to add the Okoba station, miyajidake shrine and Matsutani terraced rice fields can be done by bike if you are physically fit and used to mountain biking. Im not, so the other option is taxi buttttt i dont think I can afford ittttt since taxi can get expensive.
Hope you appreciate ittttt!!!!
Posted Dec 8, 2025, 3:39 AM UTC