Kagoshima

Kagoshima is a small city at the southern most tip of Kyushu, and that is where our latest Tansei-maru cruise let off.

Its most remarquable point is the very large, very impressive, and very active volcano Sakurajima. This volcano squats in the middle of Kagoshima Bay, and, by satellite view, turns out to be 'nothing more' than the plug in the middle of a rather larger caldeira, now filled with water and called Kagoshima Bay.

Although still active, there is no sign of any erruption of that magnitude again, so we all set off in a jolly little pink boat to walk around the shores of Sakurajima.

It is really quite impressive to walk along the beaches there, as there is absolutely nothing besides lava, pumice and ashes. Wonderful wikipedia tells me that I called lava is actually tephra, which, in non-geologist talk, are basically 'bits of rock that flew out of volcanos but have now landed'.

What trees and grasses there are, are of the sturdy dune type, living in nooks and crannies in the rocks., although the lower slopes of the volcano support nice sub-tropical forests and citrus plantations.

The temple on Sakurajima

The city of Kagoshima itself mostly lives of fishing and farming, both of which produce amazingly good foodstuffs! However, due to the near constant activity of Sakurajima, the city is absolutely covered in volcanic ash. There is ash in the streets, making dunes along the curbes, there is ash that somehow manages to creep inside and coat everything in a thin grey shawl; and it regularily rains ashes like snow. The people are quite used to it, even having special 'ash bags' that you put out with the garbage in the morning, but I'm not sure I would really like to live there!