In Kumamoto, the Kyushu Fukko Ouenwari (九州ふっこう応援割) travel subsidy covers stays from Thursday, October 1 to Friday, December 25, with bookings opening at 10:00 on Tuesday, September 15. Separately, 10 municipalities in the prefecture run their own lodging support programs (Travel Watch, September 11). Checking each municipality’s official page for eligible stay dates shows that only two cities also cover stays from October onward: Amakusa (stays through December 28) and Minamata (stays through November 30). The other eight end in late September. In other words, for most of Kumamoto’s lodging in October, support switches from “municipal programs” to “the prefectural subsidy.”

This article lays out October inventory by municipality, just before that switch. For Saturday, October 10, observed on Wednesday, September 9 (31 days before arrival), estimated OCC stood at 96.5% in Minamioguni Town, 95.1% in Kikuchi City and 86.4% in Aso City, versus 63.1% in Minamiaso Village, 65.8% in Kamiamakusa City and 75.6% in Amakusa City. Of the 835 rooms still unsold across nine municipalities, 574 (68.7%) are in Minamiaso, Amakusa and Kamiamakusa, so October’s spare capacity is concentrated in these three areas.

10 Municipalities in Kumamoto Run Local Support — Only Amakusa and Minamata Cover October Stays

In a September 11 article, Travel Watch listed 10 municipalities in Kumamoto running their own travel support alongside the booking start date for the prefecture’s Kyushu Fukko Ouenwari: Aso City, Ubuyama Village, Takamori Town, Minamiaso Village and Nishihara Village in the Aso region; Minamata City, Tsunagi Town and Hitoyoshi City in the south; and Amakusa City and Kamiamakusa City in the Amakusa region. The same article described Minamioguni Town and Oguni Town as “closed after reaching the budget cap.”

However, the status in both towns has kept changing. Minamioguni’s tourism association announced that, thanks to additional sales, it reopened reservations at 15:00 on Friday, September 11 for tourism vouchers usable through September 30 (until sold out). Oguni’s tourism association likewise announced on September 9 that it had reopened sales of lodging-only vouchers, which had been suspended on September 5 after the 2,000-set limit was reached. Many programs end once their issuance cap or budget is exhausted, so the latest status must be checked on each official page.

The table below summarizes each program’s eligible stay dates and details, verified against official pages and the Kumamoto Prefecture tourism site’s list. On combining with the prefectural subsidy, only Hitoyoshi City states it explicitly on its official page (cannot be combined with national or prefectural lodging subsidies). Programs ending in late September do not overlap in stay dates with the prefectural subsidy, which starts October 1. For Amakusa and Minamata, which continue past October, we could not confirm on their official pages whether they can be combined, so they are marked “Unconfirmed.”

*All dates are in 2026. Light-blue rows are programs that also cover stays from October onward. “No date overlap” means the eligible stay period ends in September and does not overlap with the prefectural subsidy (stays from October 1). It is not a determination of whether the two can be combined.

Source: Travel Watch (September 11, 2026), Kumamoto Prefecture tourism site “Lodging subsidy information by area,” and official pages of each municipality and tourism association; compiled by HotelBank Editorial Team

What the table shows is that the “form” of support differs by area. Aso City, Takamori Town, Hitoyoshi City and Kamiamakusa City discount the room rate itself. Minamioguni Town, Oguni Town, Ubuyama Village, Minamiaso Village and Nishihara Village instead return value through vouchers or tickets for local spending. Amakusa City’s program, which continues past October, becomes ¥3,000 in points per person per night from October 1 and cannot be used toward room charges. Once the prefectural subsidy discounts room rates from October, the city’s support appears designed to shift toward dining and souvenirs during the stay. Separately, the Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun reported that Kamiamakusa City will launch digital meal vouchers worth ¥2,000 for ¥1,000 from October.

October Inventory by Municipality — October 10 at 96.5% in Minamioguni, 63.1% in Minamiaso

Next, we compare inventory by municipality for two October Saturdays. Saturday, October 3 is the first Saturday of the subsidy, and Saturday, October 10 is the first day of a three-day weekend (October 12 is Sports Day). Both were observed on September 9: 24 days before arrival for October 3 and 31 days before arrival for October 10. The comparison covers the nine municipalities with 10 or more hotels in the sample; those with fewer than 10, such as Takamori Town and Minamata City, are excluded.

Estimated OCC by municipality (October 3 = 24 days before arrival, October 10 = 31 days before arrival, both observed September 9). Sample: 4,210 rooms across nine municipalities (10/10); Kumamoto Prefecture overall 358 hotels / 14,007 rooms (based on listings on major booking sites). Hotel and room counts by municipality are shown in the table below.

Source: MetroEngines Research; compiled by HotelBank Editorial Team

*Estimated OCC observed September 9. Hotel and room counts are based on listings on major booking sites; where the sample differs by stay date, counts are shown for each date. Local support status as of September 11.

Source: MetroEngines Research; compiled by HotelBank Editorial Team

For October 10, the top five were Minamioguni Town at 96.5% (42 hotels / 537 rooms, 19 rooms left), Kikuchi City at 95.1% (11 hotels / 226 rooms), Yamaga City at 89.0% (23 hotels / 428 rooms), Oguni Town at 88.4% (14 hotels / 121 rooms) and Aso City at 86.4% (28 hotels / 814 rooms), all above the Kumamoto Prefecture figure of 78.1% (358 hotels / 14,007 rooms). By contrast, Amakusa City at 75.6% (31 hotels / 483 rooms), Kamiamakusa City at 65.8% (23 hotels / 436 rooms) and Minamiaso Village at 63.1% (39 hotels / 831 rooms) were below the prefecture and still have room to spare.

Looking at the volume of unsold rooms makes the gap even clearer. The nine municipalities had 835 rooms left for October 10, of which 574 (68.7%) were in just three: Minamiaso Village (307), Kamiamakusa City (149) and Amakusa City (118). These three account for 41.6% of the nine municipalities’ rooms, so unsold inventory is concentrated well beyond their share of rooms. October 3 shows the same pattern, with 416 rooms left in Minamiaso, 166 in Amakusa and 165 in Kamiamakusa. For the October imbalance at the prefecture level, see Kyushu Subsidy: Kumamoto & Kagoshima Hold 34.9% of Oct Unsold Rooms, which measures all seven prefectures.

On the Map — Support Status and Estimated OCC for October 10

We plotted each municipality’s local support status (color) and estimated OCC for October 10 (label) on the map. In the Aso region, the northern towns of Minamioguni, Oguni and Aso City are high, while Minamiaso Village in the south has room to spare. In the Amakusa region, both Amakusa City and Kamiamakusa City are below the prefecture figure. The two cities whose local support continues past October (dark navy) are Minamata in the southwest and Amakusa, both on the coast.

Circle color = local support status (dark navy: also covers stays from October onward / blue: active, covers September stays / light blue: reopened after reaching the issuance cap / gray: not in the referenced lists). Circle size = rooms in sample. Label = estimated OCC for October 10 (observed September 9). Sample: nine municipalities, 227 hotels / 4,210 rooms in total (based on listings on major booking sites). Municipalities with fewer than 10 hotels show location and support status only. Circle positions are the median location of lodging facilities in each municipality.

Source: MetroEngines Research, official municipal pages; compiled by HotelBank Editorial Team

Pickup from 45 to 31 Days Before Arrival — Minamioguni, Aso City and the Three Areas Gained 9-14pt in Two Weeks

Inventory in the areas with spare capacity is not standing still. Tracking October 10 from 45 days before arrival (observed August 26) to 31 days before (observed September 9), Minamioguni Town rose from 82.3% to 96.5% (+14.2pt), Aso City from 73.5% to 86.4% (+12.9pt), Amakusa City from 63.8% to 75.6% (+11.8pt), Kamiamakusa City from 54.8% to 65.8% (+11.0pt) and Minamiaso Village from 53.8% to 63.1% (+9.3pt), each gaining 9-14pt in two weeks. The prefecture overall went from 66.6% to 78.1% (+11.5pt). Of the four municipalities not shown in the chart, Yamaga City went from 76.9% to 89.0% (+12.1pt), Oguni Town from 78.5% to 88.4% (+9.9pt), Kikuchi City from 88.9% to 95.1% (+6.2pt) and Hitoyoshi City from 76.6% to 82.3% (+5.7pt); Kikuchi (11 hotels / 226 rooms) and Hitoyoshi (16 hotels / 334 rooms), already high at 45 days out, gained less.

The pace of pickup does not differ much. The gap on October 10 reflects the level difference that already existed 45 days out more than any difference in acceleration over the past two weeks. Minamiaso and Kamiamakusa are therefore better read not as “areas where bookings aren’t coming in” but as “areas filling at the same pace that still have capacity left.” The next thing to watch is how this remaining inventory moves once subsidy bookings open on September 15.

Booking curve for Saturday, October 10 stays (45 to 31 days before arrival). Sample: Minamioguni Town 42 hotels / 537 rooms, Aso City 28 hotels / 814 rooms, Amakusa City 31 hotels / 483 rooms, Kamiamakusa City 23 hotels / 436 rooms, Minamiaso Village 39 hotels / 831 rooms, Kumamoto Prefecture overall 358 hotels / 14,007 rooms (based on listings on major booking sites)

Source: MetroEngines Research; compiled by HotelBank Editorial Team

Comparing the Last Saturday of September and the First Saturday of October at 24 Days Before Arrival

We compared Saturday, September 26, which falls within the municipal support period, with Saturday, October 3, the first week of the prefectural subsidy, both at the same point of 24 days before arrival. September 26 was observed on September 2 and October 3 on September 9, both before subsidy bookings opened.

*Estimated OCC at 24 days before arrival. 9/26 observed September 2; 10/3 observed September 9. Hotel and room counts are based on listings on major booking sites.

Source: MetroEngines Research; compiled by HotelBank Editorial Team

Estimated OCC at 24 days before arrival (September 26 and October 3). Hotel and room counts as in the table above (based on listings on major booking sites)

Source: MetroEngines Research; compiled by HotelBank Editorial Team

Kamiamakusa City stood at 77.8% for September 26 versus 62.2% for October 3, with September ahead by 15.6pt. Its September program subsidizes half the room rate (up to ¥20,000 per person), one of the most generous in the table. September inventory may have been absorbed after bookings opened on September 1, which also means that much more capacity remains for the first week of October. However, September 26 was also ahead in Yamaga City (-16.6pt) and Kikuchi City (-17.7pt), neither of which appears in the referenced lists of local support, so event schedules and the calendar likely play a role alongside the programs. Municipal programs alone cannot explain the gap.

Conversely, Minamioguni Town was 11.7pt ahead for October 3 (78.4% → 90.1%). The town’s vouchers are usable only through September 30 and do not cover October, yet the first Saturday of October is filling faster. This is an area drawing autumn demand without relying on September support. Aso City (+4.2pt), Amakusa City (+5.1pt) and Oguni Town (+5.8pt) were also higher for October 3.

October Estimated Settled ADR — About ¥28,700 in Minamioguni, About ¥10,200 in Amakusa

Alongside spare inventory, we also check price levels. For October stays, estimated settled ADR (based on listed rates at the time of the survey) was highest at ¥28,700 in Minamioguni Town, ¥27,300 in Minamiaso Village and ¥21,100 in Aso City, well above ¥13,800 for Kumamoto Prefecture overall. Amakusa City (¥10,200), Kikuchi City (¥10,900) and Hitoyoshi City (¥11,300) were below the prefecture.

Estimated settled ADR for October 2026 stays (per room, tax-exclusive equivalent, area median), based on listed rates at the time of the survey. N = hotels used for estimated settled ADR: Minamioguni 45, Minamiaso 18, Aso 25, Yamaga 23, Oguni 20, Kamiamakusa 20, Hitoyoshi 22, Kikuchi 14, Amakusa 31, Kumamoto Prefecture overall 391

Source: MetroEngines Research; compiled by HotelBank Editorial Team

Minamiaso Village has spare October inventory while its price level is among the highest in the prefecture. Kumamoto’s Kyushu Fukko Ouenwari discounts 60% of the travel cost, capped at ¥20,000 per person per night for lodging-only stays, so the cap binds only when the travel cost reaches about ¥33,000 per person per night. Converting the estimated settled ADR for a room of two into a per-person figure gives only about ¥14,000 even in Minamioguni and Minamiaso. This is only a rough guide, but most stays fall in a price range that receives the full 60% discount below the cap. The higher an area’s price level, the more the guest’s out-of-pocket cost falls. How the cap works at each price step is covered in Kyushu Recovery Subsidy Set: 60%/50% Split, ¥20,000 Cap Hits Top 10%.

Reading Each Area — Three Areas with Capacity Left, and Minamioguni Filling Fast Without Local Support

Minamiaso Village (39 hotels / 831 rooms): 416 rooms were left for October 3 and 307 for October 10, the most among the nine municipalities. The village’s tourism support campaign ends September 30, and the prefectural subsidy takes over in October. With a high price level, it is also an area where the 60% discount lowers the guest’s net cost the most. The key question is how much of this capacity is used after subsidy bookings open on September 15.

Kamiamakusa City (23 hotels / 436 rooms): A generous September program subsidizing half the room rate pulled September 26 inventory ahead. October 3 stood at 62.2% and October 10 at 65.8%, leaving capacity in October. The digital meal vouchers launching in October could extend to local spending by travelers staying on the prefectural subsidy.

Amakusa City (31 hotels / 483 rooms): 75.6% for October 10 (118 rooms left). It is one of the few areas in the prefecture where the city’s charge vouchers continue through stays on December 28. From October they become ¥3,000 in points per night and cannot be used toward room charges, so regardless of whether they can be combined with the prefectural subsidy (unconfirmed), they work as a local currency for spending during the stay. The prefectural subsidy is cut off at December 25 stays, which changes the guest’s net cost around that date.

Minamioguni Town (42 hotels / 537 rooms): Estimated OCC for October 10 was 96.5%, with 19 rooms left. The town’s tourism vouchers are usable only through September 30; sales reopened with additional stock at 15:00 on September 11, but October is not covered. Even without town support in October, rooms are filling fast, and October 17 (Saturday) had already reached 91.4% at 38 days before arrival.

Hitoyoshi City (16 hotels / 334 rooms) and Aso City (28 hotels / 814 rooms): 82.3% and 86.4% respectively for October 10, both above the prefecture. Both September programs require booking directly with the lodging facility, and Hitoyoshi states that its program cannot be combined with national or prefectural lodging subsidies. From October, the prefectural subsidy replaces the city programs as the main form of support.

Minamata City, Takamori Town and other municipalities with fewer than 10 hotels: With small samples and volatile figures, they are excluded from the inventory comparison in this article. Minamata’s program continues through stays on November 30 and also covers stays from October onward.

Takeaways for Hotels, DMOs and Financial Institutions

For hotels, the opening of bookings at 10:00 on September 15 is the trigger that will move October inventory. In areas such as Aso City, Hitoyoshi City and Kamiamakusa City, where September municipal programs required booking directly with the property, the center of support shifts to the prefectural subsidy from October. Aligning how October inventory is released and which sales channels are used on that basis makes it easier to capture the pickup once bookings open. In areas with capacity left in October, such as Minamiaso Village, Kamiamakusa City and Amakusa City, the upside lies in price bands where the subsidy discount works fully and in Saturday and weekday inventory outside the three-day weekend.

For municipalities and DMOs, roles relative to the prefectural subsidy are splitting between Amakusa and Minamata, which continue local support past October, and the towns and villages that ended in September. Just as Amakusa made its post-October points unusable toward room charges, one possible design is to direct municipal budgets to dining, souvenirs and other in-stay spending while the prefectural discount applies to room rates. Towns such as Minamioguni and Oguni, which reached their issuance caps and added extra sales, can use that as evidence of demand strength when designing their next programs.

For financial institutions assessing regional lodging, prefecture-level figures alone make municipal differences hard to see. Estimated OCC for October 10 spans 33.4pt within Kumamoto Prefecture, from 96.5% in Minamioguni Town to 63.1% in Minamiaso Village. During the subsidy period, using monthly inventory trends by municipality as monitoring material makes it easier to track the pace of recovery in each area.

Summary

Of the 10 municipalities in Kumamoto running their own lodging support, only Amakusa City and Minamata City also cover stays from October onward; the rest end in late September. For most of Kumamoto’s lodging in October, support switches from municipal programs to the prefecture’s Kyushu Fukko Ouenwari (stays October 1-December 25, bookings open 10:00 September 15).

Just before that switch, estimated OCC for October 10 as of September 9 split between Minamioguni Town 96.5%, Kikuchi City 95.1% and Aso City 86.4% on one side, and Minamiaso Village 63.1%, Kamiamakusa City 65.8% and Amakusa City 75.6% on the other. 68.7% of the 835 unsold rooms across nine municipalities are in Minamiaso, Amakusa and Kamiamakusa, where October capacity is deepest. Over the two weeks from 45 days before arrival, Minamioguni, Aso City and the three areas each gained 9-14pt, so the three are filling at the same pace while still leaving room. Minamioguni is filling fast in October even without town support. Setting municipal programs side by side with inventory shows that the room for the prefectural subsidy to make a difference varies by area.