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Scenes from the Street: Part 2

#15 Around Tenmonkan

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zzoos
Night street scene in Kagoshima, in front of a Seven-Eleven convenience store.
Seven-Eleven in Kagoshima
Night street scene in Kagoshima, with a small parking lot and vending machines.
Just a back-alley parking lot

There are many reasons why I love traveling to Kagoshima.

Fresh and delicious ingredients,
an incredible variety of shōchū,
the hot spring at Shiroyama Hotel,
and the view of Sakurajima — all those things, of course.

But there’s one more reason.
And it’s a bit unusual.

Kagoshima has only one downtown area.

Street scene in Kagoshima showing a bicycle parking area with painted guide lines.
Even the bicycle parking has painted lines. Well, not that anyone follows them.

Of course, there are shopping malls and restaurants
near Kagoshima-Chūō Station,
and some unique bars around Meizanbori.
There are also nice cafés and restaurants near the City Museum of Art.

But even if you combine all of those areas together,
they still don’t beat the liveliness of Tenmonkan.

If you’re looking for bars or restaurants, that’s where you go.

Street view in Kagoshima with people crossing a crosswalk at night.
From Terukuni Street, you can see Shiroyama Hotel.
Shopping arcade scene in Tenmonkan, Kagoshima, at night.
Shopping arcade in the north part of Tenmonkan.
People waiting in line in front of Hokuraku Manju in Tenmonkan, Kagoshima.
Hokuraku Manju, which I enjoyed in Kumamoto. Looks like they have branches across Kyushu.

What’s so good about having only one downtown?

Well, you never have to worry about where to go for drinks.
When night comes, you just head to Tenmonkan.

In Seoul, you’d have to decide — Gangnam? Hongdae? Seongsu? Apgujeong?
But in Kagoshima, no such trouble.

There’s only Tenmonkan.

Tram street in front of Tenmonkan, Kagoshima, at night.
The busiest(?) street in Kagoshima
Tram tracks and a streetcar passing in front of Tenmonkan, Kagoshima.
Tram tracks covered with fresh green grass.

Tenmonkan can be roughly divided into two areas,
north and south,
with Tenmonkandōri Station in between.

The southern side is livelier —
there are more nightclubs, hostess bars, and touts on the streets.

But it’s not scary at all.
Just smile and say “sumimasen,” and keep walking.

Night view of Tenmonkan, Kagoshima.
Tenmonkan at night
Night view of Tenmonkan showing a busy crosswalk.
The crosswalk connecting north and south Tenmonkan

For some reason, I really like Tenmonkan at night.

It’s not too big, not too flashy, and has everything you need —
like a cozy dining alley with a familiar warmth.

These are the scenes of Tenmonkan I captured with my iPhone during this trip.

Night street scene in Kagoshima with a tram passing through Tenmonkan.
Tram running through the center of Kagoshima
Night street scene with people crossing in front of Tenmonkandōri tram stop.
Tenmonkandōri tram stop
Night street scene in Tenmonkan with a Don Quijote store in view.
Oh, there’s a Don Quijote!
Night street view near a crosswalk in Tenmonkan, Kagoshima.
Tenmonkan at night

Once, Tenmonkan was said to be the second biggest nightlife district in Kyushu.

It’s not that wild anymore, but you can still feel the traces of that former glory in its atmosphere.

By the way, the name “Tenmonkan” (天文館) comes from the Edo period —
this area once had an actual astronomical observatory.

It’s funny that a place once used for studying the stars is now known as the nightlife center of Kagoshima.

Night scene in Kagoshima with taxis waiting for passengers.
When it gets late, time to grab a taxi.
Night scene in Kagoshima with taxis waiting in a narrow alley.
There are taxi waiting spots even in the inner alleys.
Late-night street scene in Ginza Street, southern Tenmonkan, Kagoshima.
A deeper alley in the southern Tenmonkan, Ginza Street
Late-night street scene in the busy Tenmonkan area of Kagoshima.
Streets I wandered through, looking for a shōchū bar
Late-night street scene in the Tenmonkan district, Kagoshima.
A familiar view by now
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zzoos avatar

zzoos

live in seoul, love in drink, snap in breeze

Once a wine magazine journalist and online game designer,
now a traveler walking through Japan and Korea,
photographing journeys with an iPhone.

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