This is an ideal time of year for hikes. A good day hike is to Hanaokayama 花岡山, the hill behind the train station. You can take JR or the city tram to a somewhat proximate location and walk up a whole lotta steps past cherry trees to the peak. Note along the route many old inns that were used as leprosy hospitals in the 1920s. It was also a site from which the Kagoshima army bombarded Kumamoto Castle, and there are graveyards dating from that era. Reading the tombstones is interesting. At the peak is a stupa gifted to Kumamoto by Prime Minster Nehru of India. If you go by car, the night view of Kumamoto is unsurpassed. - William