:: Sakurajima, Strictly Speaking, Isn’t an Island
Sakurajima(桜島), you see,
is something like the “image” of Kagoshima.
It’s a scene you can’t leave out of any Kagoshima trip.
Put the other way around,
most of the photos you take in Kagoshima
end up being photos of Sakurajima.
In the middle of Kagoshima Prefecture lies Kagoshima Bay.
And right in the middle of Kagoshima Bay sits Sakurajima.
It was originally an island, they say.
But during the Taisho Eruption(大正大噴火) of 1914,
lava flowed down and connected it to the Osumi Peninsula.
So now, strictly speaking,
it’s not an island.
:: An Active Volcano Spewing Volcanic Ash
Sakurajima has an active volcano called Minamidake(桜島南岳).
Yes, an active volcano.
Meaning it’s still active today.
That’s why you can often see gray smoke
rising from the crater even now.
In fact, the smoke from Sakurajima’s crater
sometimes contains volcanic ash.
Depending on the wind direction,
the ash can fall on downtown Kagoshima.
You can check the Sakurajima volcanic ash forecast on Yahoo! Japan.
It tells you in advance how far the ash is likely to reach.
Walking around downtown Kagoshima,
you’ll probably notice bags filled with what looks like soil,
placed here and there.
These are bags of volcanic ash.
When ash falls in the city,
people sweep it up into these bags.
When the ash blows toward the city,
people wear masks and use umbrellas, I hear.
And even when hanging laundry outside,
they check the ash forecast.
For the people of Kagoshima,
Sakurajima’s ash is, quite literally, part of everyday life.
Isn’t it scary, being an active volcano?
Let me give you another example.
The Big Island of Hawaii,
one of the most famous resort destinations in the world.
There are three active volcanoes there too.
But when planning a trip to Hawaii,
nobody thinks, “I’m too scared to go because of the volcanoes,” right?
I think Kagoshima is similar.
I’ve visited about five times so far.
I don’t know if my timing was just good,
but I’ve never once been inconvenienced by volcanic ash.
You can cross from Kagoshima to Sakurajima by ferry.
And on the island (though strictly speaking it’s not an island),
you can take a bus around a few sightseeing spots.
The famous spot on the island is Yunohira Observatory(湯之平展望所).
It’s said to be the closest point from which you can see the crater.
But when you actually visit,
it isn’t really that close to the crater,
so you can’t properly see inside it.
This is just my opinion,
but Sakurajima is better viewed from afar
than from up close.
:: An Overwhelming View, Seen From Anywhere in Kagoshima
As you can tell from the photos in this post,
Sakurajima is a pretty massive island, and a mountain.
So you can see this overwhelming mountain
from just about anywhere in downtown Kagoshima.
Walking around Sengan-en(仙巌園) is a fun time in itself,
but the view from the Sakurajima viewpoint
near the northern end of Sengan-en is really nice too.
You can also see Sakurajima from Iso Beach(磯海水浴場).
The Shiroyama Park Observatory(城山公園展望台)
is pretty much the standard spot.
And the view of Sakurajima from the 4th-floor lounge
of the Kagoshima City Aquarium is quite impressive too.
You can see it from the garden or café of the Nagashima Museum(長島美術館),
and it’s also very clear from the far-off viewpoint at Jigenji Park(慈眼寺公園展望地点).
In the end, if I exaggerate a little,
you could say sightseeing in Kagoshima
is all about looking at Sakurajima from different angles.
Sakurajima, which you keep seeing
from the moment you arrive in Kagoshima until the moment you leave.
I’ve rambled on a bit about that very image that represents Kagoshima.
These were scenes of Sakurajima in its many forms,
seen from Kagoshima in the middle of last summer.
I don’t know when it will be,
but the next time I visit Kagoshima,
what will Sakurajima show me then?
