Kagoshima was to be our final destination on our Japan leg of the Travelsty tour. Tucked away towards the south of the mainland, this city has the claim to fame that it sits right next to an active volcano, Sakurajima.
We arrived using the final day of our Japan Rail Pass. A sad moment to be catching the last of the Shinkansen fast bois, our mode of travel which shot us across our Japan tour (also known as the bullet trains).
Arriving at our lovely inner-city hotel, we were given a warm greeting and a selection of free toiletries, some very much appreciated after a few weeks of Hostelling (not entirely sure what shampoo these places use, but my hair had started to feel like something you would see in the fields of England after a long dry summer)
We didn’t stay in our room long. Keen to see what we could in our one day of Kagoshima, we headed straight for the port. Crossing the roads to the usual joyful sounds of Bleep Bloop and Pew Pew (this will make more sense once we make our getting around page, but long story short, Japanese cities have deployed an interesting system of using different sounds for north/south crossings and east/west crossings). Our end goal for this expedition, to get as close to the volcano as we could.
We got on the major ferry between Kagoshima and the volcanic island. Crossing was nice and cheap and the boat had a set of binoculars on which you get get a closer view of the volcano. On this partular day it was smokin’ a darkish yellow plume of ashen cloud.
Interestingly, on landing on the island, there was ash all over the place, most noticeably by the kerbsides of the road. Reading some signs it became clear that ash was a constant issue for the islanders and that most outdoor structures have a roof to prevent ash from falling in unwanted places (such as pools).
We were too late to see any of the museums, but we managed to get a scenic bus ride around which brought us pretty close to the volcano.
We headed back to main Kagoshima to watch some more of the rugby world cup in a British pub. Now say I’m splitting hairs here, but this place would not qualify for a pub at home. But it did seem to work as a calling card to any British rugby fans who were in high attendance at the bar.
Finally, we had a stroll about town. Accidentally walking into the red light district, we weren’t sure where we were to begin with. The normal thoughts of a red light district were strewn to one side here. Not a woman in sight, the street was lined by men in suits all looking like they were ready to duff you up. It felt more like a venue for a punch up that any sort of enjoyment.
Our brief stop was over, however, we did head back to Kagoshima airport on the way out of Japan, and one thing to add here is that Kagoshima wins big points by having a thermal footpath by the entrance. Only downside, not having a towel to hand (they did sell some, but we were being cheapos) did mean soggy feet on the plane….whoopsie.
