Akamizu Golf Resort: fairways inside the Aso caldera

Formerly known as Aso Golf Club and later Atsumaru Aso Akamizu Golf Club, Akamizu Golf Resort sits within Aso-Kuju National Park in Kumamoto, surrounded by the vast Aso caldera. Opened in 1966 and designed by Shiro Akaboshi, the resort was planned around three nines, Kijima, Sotowa and Nakadake, named after the area's volcanic peaks. Most holes are fairly flat with generous fairways, framed by volcanic rock and mature trees, with gentle undulations and long par-72 eighteens of over 7,000 yards.

Wide fairways beneath smoking peaks, with the Aso Five Peaks on the horizon.

The setting is the star: views across to the Aso Five Peaks accompany much of the round, and GPS carts with fairway access keep play easy. English- and Korean-speaking staff make it a comfortable choice for overseas visitors, and there is a large bath for a soak after golf. The surrounding caldera is one of Japan's great landscapes, from the active Nakadake crater and the grassy Kusasenri plain to Aso Shrine and the hot-spring towns of Uchinomaki and Kurokawa. The course is around 27 km from the Kumamoto interchange of the Kyushu Expressway, and a short taxi ride from JR Akamizu Station on the Hohi Line.