Natsume's Book of Friends Country Just Got Its Railway Back

What you're looking at

Kumamoto Prefecture promotes the Hitoyoshi-Kuma area as the model for the quiet countryside of Natsume's Book of Friends (2008). Tengu Bridge over the Kuma River, Okoba Station, local shrines and terraced rice fields all appear as backgrounds.

The railway is back

The July 2020 floods cut both rail lines into Hitoyoshi. The Kumagawa Railway reopened its Higo-Nishimura to Yunomae section in November 2021, and on September 20, 2026, it reopened the full line, including Hitoyoshi-Onsen Station next to the JR station. Two stations have new names: Kawamura is now Sagara-Toshima, and Higashi-Taragi is Taragi-Shorenji.

The JR Hisatsu Line is a different story. Yatsushiro to Hitoyoshi is still suspended; restoration was agreed on April 1, 2025, with a target of fiscal 2033 and three stations due to close. Hitoyoshi to Yoshimatsu, the section with Okoba Station, is suspended with no timeline.

Getting there

There's no through train from Kumamoto. Buses take about 90 minutes from Kumamoto city, or about 40 minutes from Shin-Yatsushiro Station on the Kyushu Shinkansen by the B&S Miyazaki bus. Once you're in Hitoyoshi, the Kumagawa Railway runs up the valley.

Before you go

• Many spots sit on narrow lanes, about 10 minutes on foot from bus stops. Walk single file and let cars pass.
• Consider the Natsume taxi plan. Local taxi companies have run five Natsume courses since January 2023. The tourism office is inside JR Hitoyoshi Station.
• Don't wait for a train at Okoba. It's a beautiful old mountain station on the Hisatsu Line, and no trains run there for now.

Also nearby

• Tengu Bridge, a footbridge over the Kuma River and a well-known model spot, reopened on November 15, 2025, after flood repairs.
• Kajiyamachi-dori, a street with Natsume character shadow projections since October 2022.
• This year's tours. Kyushu Sanko Group's Natsume bus tours run through November 22, 2026.