In my recent trips, I failed to wake up properly in the morning
and even missed flights or had to switch to later flights in a rush.
Since the flight from Kagoshima Airport to Korea operates only once a day,
I knew that if I missed it, there would be no backup flight.
So last night, I didn’t drink much.
Maybe that’s why my eyes opened early on the final morning of the trip.
I went to the hotel onsen, warmed up my whole body,
and suddenly I felt better than I did at the start of the trip.
It was the kind of condition where I felt like I could start a new journey today.
But today, I’m going home.
I took the shuttle bus from Shiroyama Hotel
and got off at the Kagoshima Bus Terminal.
I heard that the airport bus leaves from here.
The terminal isn’t large, so it was easy to find the ticket machine.
Next to it was the printed bus timetable.
You can check the schedule online,
but the most reliable information is always the one “on site.”
So I usually take photos in advance —
this photo was taken a few days earlier.
Since it was early morning
and Kagoshima is a relatively small city,
I thought the airport bus would be quiet.
But that was a big mistake.
The bus filled up completely.
When boarding, large luggage is loaded underneath the bus.
The staff asks for your destination,
probably so they can group luggage together
and take them out at the correct stop.
It’s the same as airport buses in Korea.
It takes about 40 minutes to reach the airport.
Outside the window were the lush green suburbs of Kagoshima.
Maybe because I felt so good this morning,
I kept feeling strangely sentimental.
I even made a quiet promise to return soon.
The international terminal is the first stop.
I checked in my luggage at the Korean Air counter.
Boarding was at 11:00 a.m.
The time now was 9:20 —
still more than an hour and a half left.
Kagoshima Airport’s domestic terminal is much bigger.
The international terminal handles only three to four flights a day,
but the domestic terminal is very active
and naturally the building is much larger.
Most shops and restaurants are also in the domestic terminal.
It’s right next to the international terminal,
so if you have spare time,
spending it there is definitely better.
The domestic terminal’s 3rd-floor observation deck
was something I wanted to see.
Many people were sitting on benches,
watching planes, eating small bento lunches,
and passing time comfortably.
Maybe because only one flight’s passengers need to pass security,
the screening didn’t take long.
After finishing security, I entered the duty-free area.
There was one small café
and a compact duty-free shop.
I spent the rest of my cash here.
I bought Kagoshima souvenirs for my niece —
sweet-potato cookies, citrus jelly,
and “creative karukan,” a type of modernized karukan
that once won a souvenir award.
Karukan is a traditional Kagoshima steamed rice cake.
It has a calm, refined flavor.
I also bought a citrus-scented mochi
called “Kagoshima Sakurajima Funwari Daifuku.”
It was unbelievably good.
Highly recommended.
The flight takes just over an hour and a half.
I landed at Incheon Airport.
It felt like the trip from Incheon Airport to my home
took longer than the flight from Kagoshima to Korea.
Since it was Saturday,
maybe the subway would have been faster than the airport bus.
And with that,
my Birthday Kagoshima Trip comes to an end.
It wasn’t a long trip,
but I posted so many entries.
Looking back on the journey through photos and text
made me miss Kagoshima all over again.
My body feels restless.
Where should my next trip be?
When can I return to Kagoshima again?
With one last photo of Sakurajima,
the journey truly ends.
Bye!
Leave a Reply