A wooded park on a low hill northeast of central Kumamoto, with a tea house, a small Hosokawa-era cemetery, and a network of woodland paths. The Taishōan tea house — a thatched-roof building rebuilt in the seventeenth century — hosts matcha tastings with seasonal sweets, and the surrounding garden is at its best when the camellias bloom in late winter.
Quiet, not on the standard tourist circuit, and a useful alternative if Suizenji is crowded. Reached by city bus from central Kumamoto in about twenty minutes.