Dinosaurs, Dolphins and Amazing views: Visiting Kagoshima and Sakurajima

The last stop on our holiday in February was Kagoshima! As with Nagasaki, we didn't have too long there, but we managed to visit Sakurajima, the volcano in the bay opposite Kagoshima city.



We got the Shinkansen again, because we didn't have much time left (Actually, you can get the Shinkansen straight from Shin Osaka to Kagoshima! Japan is pretty cool.)

Sakurajima is so gorgeous! It's pretty out of the way, and when we went (in Uni's Spring holiday) there were not many other people there. It had a weird almost deserted feeling at times, but I guess we did go out of season. I'd definitely recommend Sakurajima though! It has a completely different feeling from Japan's crowded cities. Everyone we met was so kind too! Especially the bus driver on the Sakurajima loop bus- I guess they don't get many exchange students down there, and he was really kind to us.

The ferry was really cheap from Kagoshima to Sakurajima, and didn't take long. The best part of the ferry was the amazing view of Sakurajima though!

On the way to the ferry, we saw a man feeding a flock of birds of prey, and Kagoshima aquarium was doing a free dolphin show!!

Once we'd taken the ferry, we went to see a very different type of animal- huge dinosaur models at the dinosaur park. I was the one who insisted we went there, and it's a little out of the way, but who wouldn't want to pretend to be eaten by dinosaurs (you can climb in them) and play on all the park equipment? Plus, it's high up so the view was great.

After that, we walked round to the lava trails and outside foot bath (which was pretty lukewarm unless you were right next to the pump... February problems...)
We walked around the island for a while- it's pretty big and a really peaceful walk, then we caught the tourist bus back to the ferry.
Sakurajima is an active volcano, so when we went there was actually an exclusion zone round the crater, but we went as high up as we could. Even if you can't get far up, Sakurajima is still well worth the visit :) Probably the best view is from Kagoshima city anyway- there's a Ferris wheel which I bet has an amazing view of the Volcano.

That was our day in Sakurajima, thanks for reading!
It's really out of the way, right at the bottom of Kyushu, but Kagoshima is a really nice city! I'd recommend it, and definitely the visit to Sakurajima!
-Amy xoxo

Kare Sansui and Maple leaves at Tofukuji, Kyoto// Gujo Hachiman Castle and sample food making in Nagano and Gifu// Bleach London Violet Skies review and before and after