Aso-Kuju National Park
Scent of Grasslands, Breathing of Volcanoes, Wind that frolic across the Majestic Landscape
The main characteristics of the park include a huge caldera encompassing the five peaks of Mount Aso, along with the Kuju Mountain Range located to the north, and magnificent and gentle grasslands surrounding them.
In the southern part of the park, visitors can admire a series of breathtaking scenery, including the fuming crater of Mount Nakadake, the beautiful cone of Komezuka, the vast grassland of Kusasenri Ga Hama, as well as the caldera in which they are situated.
Around the Kuju Mountain Range, visitors can witness vents emitting sulfurous gases, steam, and hot vapors, as well as a unique volcanic landscape. There are numerous highlights, including the vast grasslands of the Kuju and Handa plateaus, as well as the academically valuable wetlands of Tadewara Marsh and Bogatsuru Marsh. In the northern part of the park, the beautiful shapes of Mount Tsurumi and Mount Yufudake, the sources of hot springs in Beppu and Yufuin, can be appreciated. From the mountain ridges, visitors can enjoy a panoramic view stretching from Beppu Bay to the Yufuin Basin and the Kuju Mountain Range.
Mount Aso has one of the world's largest calderas, measuring approximately 25 kilometers from north to south and 18 kilometers from east to west.
The central volcanic cone group, known as Aso Gogaku or the five peaks of Mount Aso, includes Mount Takadake as its highest point, reaching a height of 1,592 meters.The landscape near the crater of Mount Nakadake, one of the most active volcanoes in Japan, is rugged; as you move away from the crater rim, the terrain transforms into grasslands with abundant plants, creating a more serene scene.
Activities: electronic mountain biking, horseback riding, trail walking in grassland, hot air ballon, paragliding, helicopter tour and trekking around Aso mountain and Kuju range.
Designation: December 4, 1934
Area:73,017 hectares

kirishima-kinkowan National Park
Kirishima Massif, Kinkowan Bay, Sakurajima Volcano
Hot Springs Created by Giant Calderas and Bountiful Seas
Born in 1934 as Kirishima National Park, Kirishima-Kinkowan National Park was one of Japan's first national parks. The park can be broadly divided into northern and southern parts, each with its own characteristic scenery as either the Kirishima area or Kinkowan Bay area.
The Kirishima area in the northern part of the park has a series of more than 20 volcanoes, both large and small, as well as crater lakes, fumarole phenomena, hot springs, and plateaus all created through volcanic activity, in addition to a large amount of natural vegetation. Many tourists and others visit the main usage bases for the Kirishima area, including the Ebino Highland, Kirishima Onsen hot springs resort, Takachihogawara, and Kirshima-jingu Shrine. In the Kinkowan Bay area in the southern part of the park, centered around Mt. Sakurajima --a still-active volcano that is the area's symbol--is unique scenery, including Mt. Kaimon, Lake Ikeda, and Chiringashima Island on the Satsuma Peninsular side; Cape Sata-misaki --home of many subtropical plants--on the Osumi Peninsular side; and the sea area within the bay.