Kagoshima Highlights Private Tour, Sakurajima Volcano and more

The day, stop by stop

1. Sakurajima Visitor Center · 20 minWatch 13 minutes Movie about the real volcanic acitivies on English subtitle, some pannels to explain the past explosive eruptions, vegetations after eruptions and the real life with the active volcano.
2. Sakurajima Nagisa Foot Bath Park · 20 minOne of the largest footbaths in Japan with a length of 100 meters. It uses natural hot springs with a source temperature of 42 degrees that gush out from 1,000 meters underground. When you soak in the reddish-brown footbath, your body will be warmed up and relaxed.
3. Buried Shrine Gate · 10 minThe roughly 3-meter (10-foot) torii gate of Kurokami Shrine was buried, with only its top beam still visible. Rather than excavate the gate, the village elder chose to leave it buried as a testament to the eruption's menace for future generations.
4. 10 minA peaceful little port where you can see the changes in vegetation on lava from 1,300 years ago and 80 years ago.
5. Arimura Lava Lookout · 20 minThis observation point is located on a small hill in the lava field that flowed out in the great explosion of 1946. It is located in the middle of the 1km-long lava promenade, and offers a view of the imposing, world-famous active volcano, Sakurajima, and Kinko Bay as if they were right in front of you.
6. Yunohira Lookout · 15 minClimb Sakurajima Volcano to its highest point, 373 meters above sea level, and enjoy views of the dynamic volcanic rock face and the peninsula on the other side across Kagoshima Bay.
7. Tenmonkan · 1 hrLunch at the attractive shopping area, Tenmonkan. You can choose anything you like, including Wagyu Beef, Black Pork, Ramen, etc.
8. Kagoshima St. Xavier's Cathedral · seen in passingIn 1549, Spanish missionary Francis Xavier landed in Gion-no-su, Kagoshima. Xavier spent about a year in Kagoshima, introducing Christianity and other foreign cultures to Japan.
9. Terukuni Shrine · seen in passingThis shrine enshrines Shimazu Nariakira, the 28th head of the Shimazu clan. As the largest shrine in Kagoshima City, it is visited by many worshippers.
10. Saigo Takamori Statue · seen in passingSaigo Takamori made the greatest contributions to the Meiji Restoration, including the bloodless surrender of Edo Castle and the establishment of the new Meiji government, but suddenly quit his job and returned to Kagoshima.
11. Kagoshima (Tsurumaru) Castle Ruins & Goromon · seen in passingKagoshima Castle was the residence of the Shimazu clan, whose construction began around 1601 by Iehisa, who would later become the 18th head of the Shimazu clan and their first feudal lord. It consists of a mountain castle at the rear and a residence at the foot of the mountain.
12. Former Kagoshima Bosekijogishikan · seen in passingThis is the lodgings for British engineers who were invited by the 29th head of the Shimazu clan, Tadayoshi, when he built Japan's first Western-style spinning mill.
13. Sengan-en · 1 hr12 acres of calming traditional gardens built in 1658, 350 years ago. Discover peaceful ponds, bubbling streams, mysterious shrines, a bamboo grove, and a mountain hiking trail with a panoramic view of Kagoshima Bay and the volcano beyond.
14. Shoko Shuseikan Museum · 20 minFormer Shuseikan Machine Factory is a historic museum opened in 1923. The main building was built in 1865 as the "Shuseikan Machine Factory," for metal processing of ships and other items, and is the oldest existing Western-style factory building in Japan.

Guide languages: English, Japanese. Cancellation: All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations. Run by Experienced guide in Kagoshima with excellent English skills.