Kagoshima鹿児島県

Places to seeWhere to go in Kagoshima

Start with the first of these. Each is worth half a day.

Sakurajima桜島

An active volcano across the bay, reached by a ferry that runs all night. Foot baths on the far side.

Half a daySpring onlyYou can get in

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Chiran知覧

The Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots, where the pilots’ last letters home are shown with English translations, and a street of hedged samurai gardens in the same town.

Half a day

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Ibusuki sand bath指宿の砂むし温泉

Buried in naturally hot black sand on the beach. Ten minutes, then a normal bath.

Half a dayYou can get in

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Senganen仙巌園

A garden laid out with the volcano and the bay used as the view from it.

2 hours

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Yakushima屋久島

Steep rainforest and thousand-year-old cedars, on an island of its own. Arrange it as a separate trip.

2–3 days

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Kirishima-Jingu霧島神宮

A vermilion shrine in cedar forest on the volcano’s flank, with a long approach.

2 hours

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Amami Oshima奄美大島

A subtropical island of mangrove and forest, halfway to Okinawa. A world heritage site.

2 days

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What Kagoshima is

Sakurajima smokes most days, drops ash on the city when the wind turns. Is reached by a ferry that runs around the clock and takes fifteen minutes.

South of the city, at Ibusuki, you are buried up to the neck in hot black sand on the beach instead of sitting in a bath. Ten minutes is the limit, and it is stranger and better than it sounds.

When to comeThe same place, four different places

Pick the season first and the days will arrange themselves.

March – May

Warm and green. The clearest views of the volcano before the summer haze.

June – August

Very wet in June, especially on Yakushima. Hot and bright in July and August.

September – November

October and November are the best months here.

December – February

Mild. Sand baths are at their best in cold weather, and the ferry still runs.

Find it fastEverything in Kagoshima