Senomoto plateau, Highland plateau between Kumamoto and Oita Prefecture, Japan
Senomoto Plateau is a highland area in Kumamoto and Oita prefectures, sitting between the Aso volcanic region and the town of Yufuin. Wide open grasslands cover most of the terrain, crossed by straight roads that connect the two prefectures.
The area was opened up in the 1950s when the Yamanami Highway was built to link Kumamoto and Oita prefectures. This road turned the plateau into a transit point between the two regions.
The plateau sits along the Yamanami Highway, a road popular with motorcyclists from across Japan. On clear days, driving through the open grasslands offers wide views of the surrounding volcanic peaks.
A car is the most practical way to get around, as the plateau has no urban center and distances between points of interest are long. A rest house along the main road offers facilities for travelers passing through.
Every autumn, usually in mid to late October, millions of Chestnut Tiger butterflies pass through the plateau on their migration south. The open terrain makes this movement easy to observe from the roadside.
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