Kumamoto

Kumamoto is a city on the Japanese island of Kyushu. Kumamoto Castle dates back to the 17th century. On the castle grounds is the reconstructed Honmaru Goten Palace with its ornate reception rooms and murals. Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art shows both European works and Edo-period prints. Southeast of the city center is Suizenji Garden, a Japanese landscape garden with a central pond, created in the 1630s.