Visited Sakurajima today. Its part of Kagoshima but across the other side of Ginko Bay. You can drive right around or take a short ferry ride. There is an active volcano here that forms a spectacular backdrop to Kagoshima’s cityscape. The smoking crater has been active since the mid 1900s. A community is well established around the mountain and the ferries are busy taking people and vehicles to and from Sakurajima. I guess realestate would be cheap here but insurance costs would be high. There is some industry there as trucks loaded with something are constantly on the single road that circumnavigates the mountain.
It’s outside the tourist season so there are few foreigners about and the services are reduced. The bus system is hard to workout and English is sparing spoken or used in signage. I start with a short bus tour around a small part of the area. I’m hoping to get close to the smoking crater but that doesn’t happen sadly. There are many ensens here (hot spa baths) because of easy access to natural hot spring waters from the volcano. I follow a map to walk to one of these ensens. It appears close on the map but I walk for 8km. The naturally hot waters at this ensen come from 1000 meters below. For $3 I strip off and soak for a couple of hours in the heated pools and spas. People come to these places to relax tired muscles but also because they believe the mineralised waters have healing powers. These soaks really knock me out. At the end of it I feel too relaxed, unwanting to do anything after. There is a strict etiquette at ensens. Fortunately I have been shown by a local in Tokyo so I know what to do. You can’t have tattoos. Men with tattoos in Japan are seen to be associated with the mafia and are not welcome at public baths. This rule alone would discount more than half the male population in Australia. Fortunately I don’t have a problem. I try to catch a bus but they seem nonexistent. While at the bus stop a nice little old man pulls up and offers me a ride. He chats away constantly all the way back but I don’t have a clue what he is saying. I come across cement doorways in the side of the mountain. An information sign explains that there was a sophisticated naval base here completely underground. A diagram shows a maze of tunnels. I’m standing at the entrance to the ‘torpedo preparation room’ what ever that is. It’s all licked up unfortunately.
There is little more I want to do here so I head back to Kagoshima. My day pass on the trams is still active so to fill in the evening a jump aboard one and ride it to the end. There is a sign there saying this is the most southern team stop in Japan! Great, I can tick that one off. Curiously there is a metal statue of a koala.
angusmccoll 