※ This series is still in progress.
※ I’ll update the links as each post goes up.
※ Once everything is posted, I’ll delete this notice.
▶ Dates: July 23–30, 2026 (7 nights, 8 days)
▶ Where: Izumi, Akune, Satsumasendai, and Kagoshima, in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
:: Prologue
#1 Prologue — This Time, a Different Kagoshima
:: DAY 1, 2
#2 Getting to Izumi — Late Flights Have Their Good and Bad
#3 Yumezen Izumi — First Night in Izumi, and a Bit of Happenstance
#4 Izumi-Fumoto History Museum — Samurai Town on the Northern Edge of Satsuma
#5 Izumi-Fumoto Samurai Residences — Stone Walls, and All That Green
#6 Ajidokoro Uomatsu — Not Oyako-don, but Oyako Steak Gohan!
:: Street scenes
#7 Izumi — Street Scenes: The Crane Town, Off-Season Quiet
:: DAY 3
#8 Getting to Akune — Taking the Orange Railway to Akune
#9 Shioya Hostel — Clean and Well Looked After
#10 Tobashira Natural Park — Akune Became My Summer Sea
#11 A break in Akune — A bowl of shaved ice to escape the sun, a French lunch by the sea
#12 Sunset Road — Watching the sunset over the sea at Akune
#13 A night in Akune — A small local place full of neighborhood old-timers, then a beer pub full of young people
:: Street scenes
#14 Akune — Street scenes: A port town in midsummer
:: DAY 4
#15 Sendai Station — On the way from Akune to Sendai, don’t miss what’s outside the window.
#16 Nitta Shrine — Is this the place to go in Satsumasendai?
#17 Super Hotel Sendai — Cheap, but so friendly and such good service
#18 Dan — Izumi chicken in Satsumasendai too
:: Street scenes
#19 Satsumasendai — Street scenes: A quiet provincial city
:: Interim wrap-up
#20 Hisatsu Orange Railway — The pretty train that runs along the northern coast of Kagoshima
:: DAY 5
#21 Shiroyama Hotel — Finally, arriving in Kagoshima!
#22 Lunch in Kagoshima — This is where you have lunch in Kagoshima!
#24 Nagashima Museum — A museum up on a hill, run by the Nagashima Group
#25 A night in Tenmonkan — First day in Kagoshima, eating and drinking in Tenmonkan
:: Street scenes
#23 Kagoshima — Street scenes: Part 1
:: DAY 6
#26 Kagoshima Aquarium — On a summer trip, indoors is the answer
#28 Kagoshima cafes — The cafes I went to in Kagoshima to cool off
#29 Akane — I went to see the Meizanbori canal and fell for the mood of this izakaya
:: Street scenes
#27 Kagoshima — Street scenes: Sakurajima really is the image of Kagoshima
#30 Kagoshima — Street scenes: Part 2
:: DAY 7
#31 Kagoshima City Museum of Art — Back at Kagoshima’s “city” art museum after a long time
#32 San-ei — Kagoshima home cooking with over 90 years of history, second visit!
#33 Tenmonkan shochu bars — The big three shochu bars of Tenmonkan
:: Street scenes
#34 Kagoshima — Street scenes: Part 3
:: DAY 8
#35 Epilogue — Wrapping up the Kagoshima trip
