Part 1　Ride the ASO BOY sightseeing train

1. Before
The other day I visited the Aso region using the ASO BOY, in the middle of the winter off season.　We begin our trip in Hakata Station, taking the Tsubame 315 from Hakata to Kumamoto.

The Tsubame stops at all 5 stations from Hakata to Kumamoto which allows travelers to  leisurely move to Kumamoto station. The journey was smooth and we arrive exactly on time at 9:40, 17 minutes before Aso Boy’s departure at 9:57.

2. ASO BOY
The Aso Boy runs from Kumamoto to Beppu, but today we will take the Aso Boy to the midway point of Miyaji Station.
I recommend siting in the right side of the train, seat D (window seat) for the best seat. You can experience the switch-back operation from Tateno Station and Akamizu Station which is very unique experience in Japan from this side.  

Perhaps because of Aso Boy’s theme as a sightseeing train, the train driver does not sit at the very end or very front of the train (there is a cabin compartment to the side of the train car, from where the driver drives the train). These are the very best seats, for guests who want to sit and imagine that they are driving the Aso Boy while being immersed in the scenic beauty of central Kyushu.

Aso Boy uses a diesel-powered engine, with a very distinct sound which is a delight to hear for all train fans. The train begins at 20-30 km in urban Kumamoto and speeding up to 60-80 km/h out in the countryside making the approximately 50 km distance journey in about 1 hour 30 minutes (9:57 dep. 11:32 arr.)

During the 90-minute journey, there are plenty of attractions besides just sightseeing including looking at the many cute pictures of Kuro-chan, the mascot of Aso Boy.　As the theme is ASO BOY, ASOBOY has many attractions for families including the family seats (parent-sized chairs and child-sized chairs) as well as a “play area” for children.   

Lastly, we must recommend perusing the Kuro Café which is the onboard shop for Aso Boy which sells lunchboxes, desserts, and also Kuro-chan merchandise.　Unfortunately the Bento lunchbox is only available on weekdays, but we ordered the delicious  pudding which has beautiful winter wrapping. These wrappings change by season, so we recommend taking the Aso Boy all year round!

3. After
We arrived at Miyaji station at 11:32 exactly.
Miyaji station was built in 1918, and is an unmanned station except for busy holiday periods such as Golden Week.

It was time to say goodbye to Aso Boy as we alighted the train.
A fascinating feature about Miyaji station is that as it is unmanned, passengers need to drop off their tickets by themselves at the ticket box.