Kagoshima / Mt. Sakurajima

Top Things to do

• Io World Kagoshima City Aquarium

  4.0

  387 Reviews

  Kagoshima Pref. Kagoshimashi Honkoushinmachi 3-1

  This is the municipal aquarium built on the coast, on Kagoshima Bay facing Sakurajima Island. In the Kuroshio Large Tank which contains as much as 1,500 tons of water, you can watch the tuna and bonito migrating on the Kuroshio Current. Among them, the impact of the whale shark “Yu Yu” is a highlight. The seal exhibitions and dolphin pool are also popular. It is a 15-minute walk from Kagoshima Station.

• Museum of the Meiji Restoration

  4.0

  427 Reviews

  Kagoshima Pref. Kagoshimashi Kajiyachou 23-1

  Satsuma (now western Kagoshima Prefecture) was the birthplace of Saigo Takamori, Okubo Toshimichi, and numerous other heroes of the Meiji Restoration. The Museum of the Meiji Restoration uses a variety of means to present the history of Satsuma and Japan during that momentous time. The centerpiece of the museum is the historic dramas shown in the Meiji Restoration Experience Hall on the basement floor. In the “Road to the Restoration,” life-sized robotic models of figures such as Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi and multiple projection screens are used to present a stunning drama. In the “Satsuma Students, Go West” exhibit, the story of the students sent to study overseas in England in defiance of the national government is presented.

• Yunohira Observation Point

  4.0

  280 Reviews

  Kagoshima Pref. Kagoshimashi Sakurajimakoikechou 1025

  A viewing site called the closest to the caldera located at the fourth station on Sakurajima 373 meters above sea level. Depending on the activity of the volcano, visitors can see smoke billowing out, as well as the Taisho Lava Field spreading out before their eyes. The observation point is the highest point on Sakurajima which general visitors may enter and can be traveled to by car. The viewing area is open any time and is a popular spot to visit at night when a great panorama of Kagoshima’s nightscape is visible. Approximately 15 minutes by car from Sakurajima Port.

• Sengan-en

  4.0

  89 Reviews

  Kagoshima Pref. Kagoshimashi Yoshinochou 9700-1

  "This residence and Sengan-en Garden of the Shimazu Clan was built in 1658, by Shimazu Mitsuhisa, the 19th head of the clan. It was well-loved by Shimazu Nariakira, the 28th head of the clan, and visitors to this beautiful garden where Atsu-hime and Saigo Takamori also visited can enjoy the same magnificent views of Kinko Bay and Mt. Sakurajima as they enjoyed. The garden is approximately five hectares in size, with different flowers blooming with the changing of the seasons and various festivities which take place conveying the traditions of the samurai to the present. There are also a wide range of restaurants and shops where visitors can enjoy Satsuma's local cuisine while sightseeing. The entire garden was registered as a World Cultural Heritage Site and named a ""Site of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution"" in 2015 and was also a filming location of the 2018 drama series, Segodon."

• Sakurajima Visitor Center

  4.0

  219 Reviews

  Kagoshima Kagoshima-shi Sakurajimayokoyamacho 1722-29

  This visitor center for Sakurajima is located in Kirishima Kinkowan National Park (Sakurajima). The center features informational exhibits about the history of the volcano's eruptions as well as the nature on the island. It is popular for allowing visitors to experience the living Sakurajima through its high-definition theater, dioramas, computers, and other media. Exhibits include volcanic projectiles of various sizes from actual eruptions, a cross-sectional model of the volcano's layers, live camera footage of its Showa crater, and real time seismograph data, and up-to-date numbers of past eruptions. There is also a museum shop where visitors can purchase souvenirs such as the island's special products as well as volcanic ash and rocks.

• Kurokami Buried Torii

  4.0

  206 Reviews

  Kagoshima Pref. Kagoshimashi Kurokamichou

  The 1914 eruption of Sakurajima resulted in great amounts of volcanic ash and pumice being erupted over eight thousand meters into the air, burying the entire Kurokami area. This torii gate belonging to Haragosha-jinja Shrine is said to have originally stood three meters high; today, only the top one meter remains unburied. The residents considered exhuming the torii, but the village mayor decided to leave them as is as a reminder of the eruption for future generations. The gate was designated a prefectural Cultural Property in 1958.

• Sakurajima Roadside Station

  4.0

  136 Reviews

  Kagoshima Pref. Kagoshimashi Sakurajimayokoyamachou 1722-48

  A roadside station located at the entrance to Sakurajima floating in Kagoshima Bay. At the adjoining Hinoshima Megumi-kan building, visitors can enjoy unique Sakurajima home cooking and purchase local specialty products. Of particular note is the Sakurajima komikan orange, said to have been brought to Sakurajima 400 years ago by Shimazu Yoshihiro, lord of Satsuma Domain. The smallest mikan (mandarin) orange in the world, its simple flavor is very close to that of the uncultivated ancestor to modern mikan oranges. Located along National Route 224.

• Terukuni Shrine

  4.0

  158 Reviews

  Kagoshima Pref. Kagoshimashi Terukunichou 19-35

  Approximately a five-minute walk from the Tenmonkan bus and tram stop, this shrine dedicated to Shimazu Nariakira, the 11th leader of the Satsuma domain, is located close to the Kagoshima Prefectural Museum. Given the name Terukuni Daimyojin by royal decree in 1863, the main building was completed the following year and it became known as Terukuni Shrine. Many people believe even today that it is the guardian of Kagoshima Prefecture. The National Flag Festival that commemorate the official announcement by the shogunate of the plan to make the Hinomaru flag Japan's naval ensign is held on July 11, and the Rokugatsudo Summer Lantern Festivals in Kagoshima are held on July 15 and 16.

• Museum Shoko Shuseikan

  4.0

  164 Reviews

  Kagoshima Pref. Kagoshimashi Yoshinochou 9698-1

  This is a museum adjacent to Sengan-en. The collection hall is a group of factories that the Satsuma lord Shimazu Nariakira built for industrial development at the end of the Tokugawa period. The museum building was originally completed in 1865 as a machine factory. Currently it is utilized as a place to communicate the history of industrialization of the Shimazu family and Satsuma clan. In addition to the buildings, some of the exhibits are nationally designated Important Cultural Properties.