An Enchanting Ravine of Lights and Water

At almost the center of the island of Kyushu, towering over its namesake city in Kumamoto Prefecture, is the highly active volcano Mt. Aso. In contrast to the dynamic volcano that has given birth to the prefecture being known as “Fire Country: Kumamoto,” Kikuchi Gorge, located in the northwestern part of the gairanzan (outer rim of the crater) which surrounds one of the world’s largest calderas, a magical landscape awaits, a cobalt blue river running through it that catches the light spilling from between the trees in a natural forest that transforms with the changing of each season.

The rapids, pools, and waterfalls that can be found here have been formed by repeated eruptions and the deposit of volcanic debris from Mt. Aso. The waters in the Kikuchi Gorge are regarded as one of the 100 Best Natural Waters in Japan and flow from the Kikuchi Suigen (water source). Thanks to these rich waters, the district has developed a unique food culture—the dishes to be sampled here must be included on any visitor’s itinerary.

Kikuchi Gorge, Carved out over Millions of Years

The Kikuchi River connects the Mt. Aso area with the Ariake Sea; its mineral-rich subterranean water has nurtured a culture of rice cultivation in the basin it has formed from as far back as 2,000 years ago and it has long served as a waterway for transportation. Kikuchi Gorge, home to the headwaters of the river and a beloved scenic spot, presents a rich and varied landscape, one where you can truly feel the eternal passage of time.

There are three bridges that traverse the gorge and the expansive 1,193-hectare woodland (comprised of approx. 66% planted forest and 33% natural old growth) that surrounds it was declared a natural recreational forest around 1980. After the massive Kumamoto Earthquake of 2016, a series of landslides tore through the area, the damage so great that this scenic spot was closed to visitors for quite some time. However, after two years of restoration work, the gorge was opened for the public to admire its beauty once again.

Walking along the trail that follows the gorge, the air is moist; verdant moss clings to the tree trunks everywhere. There are conifers such as cedar and cypress mixed in with broad-leaved trees such as zelkova, camphor trees, and camellias. During the Edo period (1603–1868), when the Hosokawa clan ruled the area, cedar and cypress trees were planted for building materials, and this trail was used as a path for workers to transport the logs out to be milled. “The oaks and camellias were used to make charcoal, so it also served as a fuelwood forest,” explains Koichiro Goto of the Kikuchi Gorge Conservation and Management Council.

The volcanic soil to be found here is especially suited to the growing of cedar and cypress. Those that survived the felling are now magnificent old trees, becoming part of the natural forest vegetation and the cycle of decay and new growth. The zelkova trees that grow in the gorge (called hogan-keyaki) have a tendency to wrap themselves around something, like boulders; they are another facet of this place that represents the flow of time.

A Habitat for Creatures in all Seasons

With temperatures dropping to 10 degrees below zero in the deep of winter, Goto and other team members work from April up to late November. Spring is the time when the gorge takes on the hue of fresh green leaves. Summer is when the strong rays from the sun pierce through the forest to highlight the spray from the many waterfalls that are possibly the highlight of the gorge, creating a wonderful picture. Autumn then arrives, sending the beech trees into a myriad of golden colors. As the seasons change, you are able to experience the minute details of the scenic beauty to be found here.

The forests of this deep gorge have supported and acted as a protective home for a variety of wildlife since ancient times. Animals such as wild boar, flying squirrels, and Japanese hares are found here. Birds such as copper pheasants, eastern turtle doves, brown-eared bulbuls, and Japanese buntings can also be spotted around the gorge. In the river’s clear waters live trout and yamame (landlocked salmon).

The delicious aroma of fish on the grill wafts up through the eaves of the Kikuchi Gorge Visitor Center. Each day the Center is open, the owner of Yamame no Goto, a fishing pond just 10 minutes away, comes to serve up salt-grilled yamame to hungry tourists. The fish, reared in the fresh headwaters of the Kikuchi River, are tender and full of flavor. Biting into grilled yamame while looking over the picturesque gorge at the Center is a particularly exquisite treat.

Cuisine Born of the Famed Waters of the Kikuchi River

The bounty of water flowing from the mountains is also the source of the region's food culture. About 10 minutes by car from the Kikuchi Gorge Visitor Center, deep in the mountains, is Mori-no-Ajidokoro Nakamura, a restaurant that grows its own shiitake and nameko mushrooms right next door and serves up traditional cuisine of the area made from local ingredients. The restaurant was opened in 2005 by a shiitake mushroom grower who took advantage of the excellent water quality to be found here.

“At that time, global warming had started taking its toll, causing a collapse in the price of shiitake; more and more (cheaper) Chinese shiitake was being imported as a result. That’s why he decided to quit full-time farming and open this restaurant, growing only what was to be served at the restaurant,” says second-generation owner, Tomoki Nakamura. Nakamura and his mother Shizue, who is responsible for the seasoning of the dishes, run the restaurant as a family business.

“Our special dishes are dago-jiru (a traditional dumpling soup) and grilled free-range chicken. The dago-jiru is a true local dish that people around here regularly serve up at home; the ingredients and seasoning vary from family to family. We decided to add our special ingredient, nameko mushrooms, to make it a more appealing menu item for customers.”

The miso-based soup is made from bonito stock and flavored with the nameko and chicken. The dago — Kumamoto dialect for dango, dumplings — with a plump, glutinous consistency that Nakamura arrived upon after “research into various flours,” are mixed in with plenty of vegetables and nameko mushrooms, the latter giving the soup a smooth, thickened texture. Meanwhile, freshly harvested shiitake mushrooms are grilled on the teppan hot plate and served with homemade yuzukosho (a condiment that uses ripe yuzu zest and red chili pepper as the main ingredients). Each dish is a testament to the time and effort that has obviously gone into enhancing the original flavor of the ingredients.

Leaving the Mori-no-Ajidokoro Nakamura restaurant, it is just a five-minute drive to the hamlet of Yukino, renowned for its spring water. From the base of a 100-year old Muku tree (Aphananthe aspera) gushes water that is known as the source of the Sozugawa River; this is the Sozugawa-suigen. Locals have long nicknamed it “Demizu-san” (demizu literally meaning “where the water comes out”) and people come from far and wide to collect this delicious water. The area around Mt. Aso has some of the heaviest rainfall in Japan. The rain permeates through the volcanic rocks, collecting in a giant aquifer that spreads across the region; this water then reaches the ground through numerous springs located here and there surrounding the volcano.

Secret Herbal Remedies Passed down through Generations

The climate Mt. Aso is blessed with provides ample nutrients to the plants that grow here; this has also seen the development of folk medicine based on the medicinal plants that can be found in abundance. The Aso Yakusoen (“Aso medicinal plant garden”), located in Ichinomiya in the city of Aso, was established by Satoshi Izawa, a researcher of folk medicinal plants, in order to pass on the wisdom of medicinal plants that has been preserved in this region since ancient times. His personal experience of being treated with medicinal plants by his grandmother when he was in poor health as a child was also an impetus for founding the business.

“In the past, every family had secret medicinal plant remedies that were passed down from generation to generation. I became interested in medicinal plants from my childhood experiences, and I have been researching ways to improve the efficacy of medicinal plants based on the family recipes and the secret recipes that I learned from my travels all over Kumamoto," says Izawa.

Among the many medicinal plants handled here, one that is unique to this area is tomorokoshi, sweetcorn (called "tokibi" in this part of Japan), which has been cultivated as a representative agricultural product of the Aso region from long ago.

“Until around 1950, it was actually mixed with rice and eaten as a staple. However, the corn silk was also found to have medicinal properties, including having diuretic and hypotensive effects, and has been used in various ways, such as being roasted and drunk together with medicinal herbs like mugwort and ground ivy.”

Since it has become more difficult to collect native medicinal plants than it was a few decades ago, the Aso Yakusoen, together with neighboring farmers, has been making efforts to cultivate the plants naturally. One farmer who grows plants such as plantain and hatomugi (pearl barley, sometimes known as adlay millet) is Toshio Ichihara. However, on visiting his farm, it was mugwort that was seen to be covering most of his field.

“Mugwort is good for osteoporosis if you can eat five of its growth points daily. With hatomugi, if you eat the root mixed in with rice each day, it can help remove warts. I also got rid of a big age spot by doing that!” boasts Ichihara.

Just another way in which the rich ecosystem surrounding the Mt. Aso volcano provides its benefits to us.