Kagoshima, Kyushu Island, Japan

 Kagoshima is the the capital city of Kyushu, the most southern of the four main islands in Japan. It is known as the "Naples of the East" due to it's mild climate,  and location 4 km from Mount Sakurajima, the constantly rumbling active volcano 4 km from the city in the harbor. It now connects to the mainland due to an eruption in 1914. Lava flow filled the strait and connected the island to the Osumi Peninsula. 

Mount Sakurajima billowing black smoke.


The view of Mount Sakurajima from our ship balcony. Smoke is erupting on the right side. The left side of the volcano is no longer active.

Our ship docked at a pristine port beside a well manicured park on the harbor. The streets are very clean, and there was no busy traffic.  

Kagoshima was the location of a leader known as "The Last Samuri", who was instrumental in bringing in modern industrialization from Europe to Japan. Our tour started with a visit to The Senganen Garden, which was originally built in the 1658 by the Mitsuhisa, the head of the powerful feudal Shimadzu family.




The view of Mount Sakurajima from the garden. The garden illustrates  the principle of "borrowed scenery" by  intentionally incorporating the background elements of the Sakurajima Volcano and Kinko Bay into the garden plan. 


The cherry blossoms are starting to bloom.

After we left the garden we took the ferry to visit Sakurajima Island. No one is allowed to approach within 2 km of the crater, but there is an observation point at a safe distance. About 3,000 people still live on the island. Due to frequent eruptions, children are required to wear helmets to school! Along the road, there are small concrete shelters every kilometer.

The lion shaped lava rock



After an eruption, plants start to grow in the lava within 10 years, and within 100 years there is dense Japanese Black Pine. No plants grow near the top of the crater due to poisonous gases. 




Comments

  1. LindsayMarch 25, 2023 at 6:44 PM

    I don't think I'd want to live near a volcano 😳

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam

Image
 Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city in Vietnam. Under the name Saigon, it was the capital of the French Colony of Cochin china and later the Independent Republic of South Vietnam from 1955-1975. On July 2, 1976, Saigon merged with the surrounding province and was officially named Ho  Chi Minh City.   In the years since the Vietnam War, the city has prospered. We have been very impressed with the cleanliness of the city, and all the modern amenities. There are now 100 million people in Vietnam, and ten million living in Ho Chi Minh City. The lovely view of downtown  Ho Chi Min City from the fifth floor outdoor dining deck area of our cruise ship. There are several passengers on the boat who were here serving in the military during the Vietnam War (known locally as the American War). There are many sights and museums dedicated to that period of  history. We have been told by other passengers that sadly, many of these  museums highlight the atrocities t...
Read more

Koh Ma Island, Thailand

Image
 We returned to drop anchor in the waters just outside Ko Samui Island again, but went by speedboat to a nearby island, Koh Ma Island to snorkel. There was some colorful coral and about a dozen species of colorful tropical fish. It was not good as snorkeling in the Maldives, bur was still a very fun day.  Ko Mah Island is pretty but quite hilly, with a lot of steep rugged rocks going down to the shoreline. We parked our boat on the beach and had a nice Thai curry lunch in a casual restaurant on  the beach. There were several small resorts on the sandy bay where we had lunch. Looks like a nice place to relax and look out over the bay. We are now headed to Cambodia.
Read more

Richard's Bay and Hluhluwe Game Reserve, South Arica

Image
 We arrived at the pretty harbor port of Richard's Bay, then immediately took an hour and a half bus ride to the Hluhluwe Game Reserve for our game drive. Richard's Bay is primarily an industrial shipping  port since it has a very deep harbor. Pulp and paper processing and metal smelting is done here, but there are not sightseeing city tours. The modern port just opened in the 1970's. Approaching Richard's Bay harbor. Our drive to the  reserve was pleasant, and the homes by the highway were much nicer in the countryside than those that we have seen in other African countries.  Most had sturdy modern construction and glass windows, with neat yards surrounding them.  The game reserve is very mountainous, and because it is the wet summer season, the vegetation was very pretty and green. We were lucky to see a good variety of animals up close, including the rare white rhino which is not actually white.  A herd of Cape Buffalo. These are very dangerous when the ...
Read more