Khristian Snyder – Travel Journal

In my research, visitors of Kyushu seem to all recommend visiting the port town of Kagoshima, so that was my next stop. As the ferry from Yakushima approached, Kagoshima’s mascot grew larger and larger. The towering volcano, Sakurajima, was spewing a cloud of ash into the sky just across the water from the city. What a beautiful sight! Sakurajima literally means Cherry Blossom Mountain. As one of Japan’s most active volcanoes, it smokes constantly and minor eruptions often take place multiple times per day. I enjoyed a day exploring the area around the volcano and a museum that highlighted locals living with such a powerful force of nature at their doorstep. It’s common to see residents carry around umbrellas just to dodge falling ash if the wind direction changes. Local kids at the base of the volcano walk to school wearing helmets, just in case. While there is a healthy respect for the volcano, life goes on in this vibrant city.

Kagoshima is also known for its food and it turned out to be some of the best of my entire trip. I only had two nights so I tried to make the most of it, sometimes having two dinners in a night. Kagoshima beef is legendary so I had treated myself to an amazing wagyu course for only $55 USD! I also had some delicious unagi (eel) and duck ramen. One highlight was stumbling upon a craft brewery. It is always hard finding craft beer in japan so this was a nice change. The bartenders were great to talk to and I met a local couple there as well. We talked for hours! Google translate helped quite a bit but we had a great time learning about each other’s cultures, talking travel stories, and enjoying a few pints. They even bought me a beer and we exchanged contact information to keep in touch. “You are a Japanese man!” is something I heard a few times after telling others all the areas I was traveling through. Many Japanese don’t travel much in their own country so they were always amazed at the different sights that I was very grateful to have explored. I also met a younger guy at the brewery who had just moved to Kagoshima the week prior. He didn’t speak much English but we had a great time checking out his music library on his phone to see what music tastes we had in common. He was a huge Red Hot Chili Peppers fan. 

My time in Kagoshima was quick but I would definitely come back. After two nights, I hopped on a quick flight north to start the next adventure in central Japan.