After TSMC sets up shop in Kumamoto, tourists increase sharply

After TSMC sets up shop in Kumamoto, tourists increase sharply

2026-07-28

Taiwan’s star chipmaker TSMC has set up a plant in Japan’s Kumamoto Prefecture and is investing in a second plant. This is transforming the area. Not only is demand for industry-academia collaboration in the semiconductor sector surging, but Taiwanese tourists have also become the top foreign visitors to the area, which in medieval times was once home to the most powerful samurai family in Japan. Let’s join the FTV team in Kumamoto.

Tang Shih-ching
FTV reporter
Hiya! When you come to Kikuchi, Kumamoto, and want to experience the most authentic samurai culture, you can do what I did and visit this tourism association. You can experience wearing samurai garb. The armor, along with the layers of metal plates, weighs 15 kg. Through the weight on your body, you are truly experiencing the samurais’ mission from centuries ago.

The imposing samurai attire, though requiring half an hour to change into, is the most direct way for tourists to learn about the Kikuchi clan, the most powerful samurai family in medieval Japan.

Mr. Kado
Kumamoto Kikuchi Tourist Association
Since TSMC moved in, the number of foreign tourists has been increasing rapidly. By 2025, the number had reached over 950, almost doubling in a year.

The arrival of TSMC’s majority owned subsidiary JASM and the increase in direct international flights to Kumamoto have transformed this historic city of Kikuchi into a new tourist hotspot. Even the farmhouses in Yatsushiro City have become popular destinations for in-depth tourism.

Kusano
Rush grass farmer, Yatsushiro
Rush grass possesses a strength and unique benefits that science can’t replicate, and the aroma of rush grass, as I just mentioned, has a relaxing effect on the mind and body, and it really does stimulate the release of related hormones.

Ninety-eight percent of the rush grass used to make tatami in Japan is grown here. In the past, the impact of Westernized architecture sharply reduced the number of farming families from thousands to just 200. Now, however, they have turned their fortunes around through "educational walking tours"—and the key driving force behind this is actually a Taiwanese.

Hsieh Chi-i
In depth tourism operator
The whole of Kumamoto isn’t just about Kumamon; it includes everything—every dish you eat, every bowl of rice, and every person you meet. Creating a deeper, more profound travel experience out of these encounters is exactly what we want to pursue and provide.

Emphasizing in-depth, long-term small-scale chartered tours and symbiotic tourism, this precisely addresses the predicament of insufficient tour guides and buses in Kumamoto.

The FTV team’s trip also attracted the attention of Japanese media. Local online media reported on it with the headline: "Demand for experiential tourism in Kumamoto is growing, even attracting the attention of Taiwanese TV stations." After all, the influx of Taiwanese tourists into Kumamoto accounts for nearly 30% of foreign visitors staying in the area.

Mr. Matsushita
Japan Travel Bureau, Kumamoto branch.
Since TSMC’s arrival, a perception has formed in Japan that “Kumamoto is synonymous with semiconductors." Therefore, regarding future industrial development, especially as Japan has designated semiconductors as a national strategic priority, ensuring a steady flow of talent and providing learning opportunities has generated considerable interest among many schools and educational institutions.

This ripple effect of the chip industry, ignited by TSMC, has completely transformed Kumamoto’s education, tourism, and economy, and has helped to forge a common destiny between Taiwan and Japan.

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#Kumamoto #Kikuchi #Yatsushiro #Japantourism #Kumamototourism #TSMC