It has a population of about 600,000 and is famous for its large castle, for Lake Ezu and for Suizenji Gardens.''Kumamoto'' means "origin of the bear", and its nickname is ''Hi No Kuni'' (fire country), because of the nearby giant volcano (Mt. Aso) and ''Mori no Miyako'' (capital of the forest). http://wikitravel.org/en/Kumamoto