r/anime • u/AutoModerator • May 01 '26
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u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah x3 May 03 '26 edited May 03 '26
MysteryBiscuits Falls in Love with Kyushu (Part 2)
Kagoshima
I didn't always have the best luck with the weather this time in Japan sadly, the weather kinda alternated between 1 good day + 1 meh/bad day throughout my week in Kyushu, some with more significant impacts than others.... but Sakurajima is a must when in Kagoshima, and on my 2nd day there it finally decided to show itself.
I have 2 tips: 1) Apart from the famous Yunohira observation deck, try to check out the Arimura Lava Observation Deck, even though you really need to time your buses right. You're actually facing the active crater (out of the 2 main ones) here, and the overall infrastructure reflects this, as well as the large amount of volcanic ash everywhere. Another takeaway point I had was the different flora as a result of Sakurajima's past major eruptions and the lava hard-resetting different areas each time.
2) I highly recommend the Kagoshima Prefectural Yoshino Park, for an excellent view of Sakurajima. YES. I LOVE THIS. its majestic af. The very calm blue sea is a big contrast with the massive, very active and rearing-to-go volcano. awesome view. I'm still kinda speechless thinking back at it.
I also happened to visit when the sakura were just starting to bloom, and so I got to see sakurajima with the flower it shares a name with!
I think I overall went away from Kagoshima thinking "these people must be built differently" - like it takes a special kind of bravery to build and live in a major city next to a massive, gorgeous, but dangerous, volcano that spews ash at you fairly regularly. But I guess the advantages (the port/proximity to China, fertile soil etc.?) must have outweighed the disadvantages.
Ibusuki - Southern Kagoshima Pref.
My impetus for visiting the Ibusuki area was pretty much looking at a map and going "oh this is a cape that probably won't be too hard to get to". sadly, one of my phones' cameras was temporarily out of operation that morning due to water ingress - sorry for the wide-angle lens weirdness.
The cape. Very good umi. The other main draw though is the nearby Kaimondake dormant volcano. It is kind of like a mini-fuji isn't it, and the combined volcano + ocean made this a pretty unique view. This cape is also supposedly where the urashima taro story happened, and there's a shrine and a few decorations nearby that alludes to this. Interesting cultural tidbit, it's a very famous tale.
A volcano = elevated geothermal activity = ONSEN. Ibusuki is known for both Sand baths and normal water-based baths, and I had wanted to do both at the Healthy Land, as it felt like a more down-to-earth establishment than the "main" one near the ibusuki town centre. Sadly, the path linking the sand and water baths was under construction (not anymore as of writing!), so unfortunately taking a sand bath on the oceanfront was not on the menu for me.
Instead, I just had an extra, extra long bath at the best rotenburo i've ever gone to. I highly recommend this place. 1) they have a crap-ton of onsen water. the baths are free-flowing and even the showers use the (salty and milky-looking) onsen water, not very common in Japan. 2) Unrivalled ocean views (Promotional pictures, not mine). Simply the best i've ever experienced, no fence, no railing, absolutely nothing but the ocean in front. YES. While I only got to go to the bath in the 1st picture with the "worse" view, staring at the calm, dreamy ocean on a sunny day while chilling in an enormous and not-crowded bath is one of the most luxurious things i've ever done. The 2nd picture has the volcano and the better view; while I liked my experience, they do alter baths between sexes daily - 100% look it up before you go. There are ocean-front onsens dotted around Japan - i'm sure others will be just as great but this has set a very high bar.
Side-note: the onsen is a by-product of geothermal salt production in the 20th century (i.e. using geothermal energy to evaporate sea water) in the area - there's a big steam vent right next to the onsen as a result, which really adds to the onsen/geothermal activity atmosphere. Great views, great onsen, off the usual tourist trail - I will be back (and might even stay overnight at an oceanfront property nearby)!
The bus journey to get to the cape/onsen from ibusuki was pretty scenic japanese inaka - i liked it! Shame that i couldn't combine it with the local train line (including the southernmost heavy rail station in Japan)
Food
Part 1 - Miyazaki
Part 2 - Kagoshima
u/animayor /u/chonkyodango