Kagoshima sits at the southern tip of Kyushu beneath Sakurajima, one of Japan's most active volcanoes, which erupts hundreds of times a year across the bay from the city. Beyond its samurai history and hot springs, the prefecture stretches to remote islands including UNESCO-listed Yakushima, famed for its ancient cedar forests.
Kagoshima (鹿児島) was the Satsuma (薩摩) domain that helped topple the shogunate; its lord's villa garden, Sengan-en (仙巌園), frames the smoking Sakurajima (桜島) volcano across the bay.
Photos: Sengan-en Garden — 阿橋花譜 KHQ Flower Guide via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Sakurajima volcano — KimonBerlin via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Chiran Samurai District — ja:User:Sanjo via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ibusuki sunamushi — Takasunrise0921 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kirishima Jingu Shrine — katsuyoshi-imagama via FIND/47, CC BY 4.0
Kagoshima is ~1h40m from Fukuoka by Kyūshū Shinkansen, or by air.
Top pick
Top pick
Must-eatKurobuta (Berkshire black pork)
Kagoshima's signature Berkshire-derived pork, prized for sweet light fat; enjoyed as shabu-shabu hot pot or tonkatsu cutlets.
Satsuma imo shochu (sweet-potato distilled spirit)
Clear ~25% spirit distilled from local sweet potatoes; Kagoshima has 100+ distilleries producing thousands of varieties.
Must-eatSatsuma-age
Deep-fried minced-fish-paste cake, a Kagoshima staple eaten as a snack or side.
Kagoshima at a glance
Next door
Links marked PR are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Photos: Sakurajima volcano — Hiroki_Hieda via FIND/47, CC BY 4.0 · Sengan-en Garden — 阿橋花譜 KHQ Flower Guide via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Sakurajima volcano — KimonBerlin via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Chiran Samurai District — ja:User:Sanjo via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ibusuki sunamushi — Takasunrise0921 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kirishima Jingu Shrine — katsuyoshi-imagama via FIND/47, CC BY 4.0 · Sengan-en Garden — KimonBerlin via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Sakurajima volcano — Yoshikazu TAKADA via Flickr, CC BY 2.0 · Chiran Samurai District — ja:User:Sanjo via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kurobuta — kalleboo via Flickr, CC BY 2.0 · Satsuma-age — Sakurai Midori via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5. Map: Geolonia (MIT).
