We Spent 48 Hours Beside an Active Volcano in Kagoshima

We Spent 48 Hours Beside an Active Volcano in Kagoshima

The most certain part of Japan we’re going to go to. [Music] Sweet potato. Ever wondered what it feels like to live next to an active volcano? Well, our next stop in Japan has that answer covered. Hi, I’m Sarah and I quit my highpaying job in Portugal to spend a year uncovering all we can from Japan with my crazy partner in crime, Vashka. By the end of this video, you’ll want to add this place to your list. So, welcome to Kagoshima. We made our way from Kumamoto on the Shinkansen and checked in at our Kagoshima highlight, a hotel run by robots. Yep, a dinosaur and a samurai greeted us at the reception. This is Henna Hotel, a quirky hotel chain you can find in a few cities around Japan. And their whole theme is robotic and holographic staff. [Music] Once we settled in, we were ready to explore the city. And of course, you’re coming with us. We started at Tinongan, Kagoshima’s main shopping arcade or Shortenai, and we have to say we found a few treasures here, especially vintage shops. [Music] We couldn’t resist trying on sunglasses and well, ended up taking a few things home. [Music] So, I ended up buying this bracelet and this ring and Sarah bought nothing. Nothing. From there, we spotted a massive Tory gate right in the middle of the road. Oh, and we had lunch. Oh, yeah. We had lunch at uh Family Mart. Lawson. Lawson. Lawson. And then I ate it. Sweet potato at Doniote. So sweet potato marking the entrance to Tukuni Shrine dedicated to a local samurai lord. It’s right at the base of Mount Chiroyama. So from there, our ascent began up some very questionable stairs, I might add. [Music] After what felt like forever, we reached the top and wow, the view was worth it 1,000 times over. You get the entire city laid out below and of course the mighty Sakurajima volcano smoking away in the distance. So, I wasn’t nervous at all. Nope, not at all. It’s an active volcano. So, you can see like the clouds of uh smoke coming out and um yeah, I don’t know how to feel about it, but yeah, getting down was of course much faster thankfully. And since it was golden hour, we decided to keep exploring. We made our way to the statue of Saigo Takamorei, one of Japan’s most famous samurai and often called the last samurai. Just nearby are the Kagoshima Castle ruins known as Tsukumaru Castle, once the seat of the powerful Shimazu clan. And this is going to be the last stop of the day cuz we need a break. After a quick rest, it was time to hunt for food because all that climbing works up an appetite. Searching food. We were definitely craving yakitori, so we ventured out hoping to find a good izakaya that would take us in. And jackpot, we found yakitori, a tiny cozy spot that turned out to be incredible. Without exaggeration, probably the best yaki tori we’ve had in Japan so far. The owner was super kind, even helping us choose what to order. What a perfect first impression of Kagoshima. Amazing restaurant. It was probably, I would say, the best yakitori I’ve ever eaten so far in Japan. For sure. Yeah. And it’s been almost uh 5 months. So, I’m pretty sure I can say confidently that this was a very, very good top-notch yaki to not too expensive and also uh freaking delicious. The grilled yoni oniiriti was also the best one I’ve ever had so far. And I would probably say to be prepared though because there is no English. So just you know come prepared maybe with double check before the menu. See what you want before just to make your life easier. Kagoshima is not necessarily in the tourist area of Japan. So you you normally will you probably will get a seat. So yeah, day two was upon us and exploring we must. Good morning. Welcome to the second day in Kagoshima. I keep forgetting the names of the cities. We literally change cities every 3 days. So yeah, but today we are going to explore a little bit of the coastal coast area. Mhm. The beach. It’s a little bit chilly for the beach, but we’ll explore it either way. You want to say something? Hi. No, I’m good. Okay, let’s go. After a quick morning coffee, we headed to Sangan Inn, a stunning traditional garden and villa with one of the best views of Sakurajima. The contrast between an active volcano, the sea, and the garden greenery is just unreal. Inside the sing grounds, we explored the Neco shrine and the area with very small shops, traditional houses, and scenic spots. [Music] This whole area was once a part of the Shimanzu clan’s estate. Near the shrine, we also found this adorable porcelain and ceramics shop we absolutely loved. And we may or may not have bought a giant porcelain koiish. No regrets. [Music] After all that walking, we grabbed a quick lunch from a commini and headed to Iso Beach just nearby to eat with a beautiful view. Have a lot of a lot of good stuff here. Yeah. Um, and yeah, we you’ll have lunch with this amazing view. Look at this. Sarah obviously grabbed a sweet potato. Sweet potato. I love you. It’s kind of a meme at this point. Stop eating sweet potato, you little ratito. I grabbed a sandwich. This This is quite good. I totally recommend it. It’s uh egg and meat and like chili sauce or something. Yeah, chili sauce. And we grabbed the iced latte and apple. And uh I grabbed the um blueberry uh smoothie as well, which is quite convenient. You can like literally blend the smoothie at the combini. And for dessert, don’t judge me. This is a a tofu sweet that I tried yesterday or two days ago and it’s actually decent. Like it has 100 calories, 129 calories and 8 g of protein. But yeah, looks like poop, but it’s actually decent. Minus the volcano, it actually reminded us a bit of our hometown. I even found a few seashells while dipping my toes in. [Music] Back in central Kagoshima, we visited the Kagoshima City Aquarium where you can learn about the marine life around Kyushu and Sakurajima itself. Vashka doesn’t like it. He says he is he’s been to every aquarium so far and all the fishies are the same, but they’re not the same and I want to see it. So, yeah, let’s go. Just to clarify, I like fishes and aquariums and everything, but we saw like four in total, so it’s quite a lot. But yeah, let’s let’s see another one. I’ve always loved aquariums since I was a kid. And with so many species now endangered, it feels good to appreciate them up close and learn more about them and how we can also protect them. Of [Music] course, we still managed to squeeze in another coffee stop before dinner. And for the evening, well, we went a little touristy. I uh booked us a table at 6:30 for I know it’s going to be like a kind of a tourist trap. I already feel it, but it’s so cute. I want to try it and see. Plus, Shabu Shabu is typical in this area because of the vegetables being so good and they have also black pig which I want to try. But it’s a place um that basically has little bears in your shaboo shaboo. So, I hear the whole restaurant is like bear themed. So, let’s see if we get a good experience or if we’re just going to be, you know, robbed. We found this wild restaurant called Hokkaido Menco Kumacha Hotring Kagoshima. Yep, it’s a mouthful. It’s basically a shabasha hot pot where little bear-shaped broth cubes melt into your soup. The whole place was filled with bear decor and honestly it was kind of weird, adorable and totally worth the experience. At least for us personally. What is birthday? You might also want to explore Kagoshima beef because the Wagi here was basically named one of the best in Japan. But of course, it’s a little bit pricier. But it was quite a nice experience. It’s like I wasn’t expecting much to be honest because these places tend to be a little bit of a tourist trap, which I mean you can you can say it’s still one because it’s very cute. It’s very you probably would eat better at somewhere some other place, but I still think it was a a cool experience. It was a different experience. So yeah, it was nice. If you have kids or if you are with a group of friends for example, it can be a cool experience because the table is literally round. So you can sit around and chat and see the bears like dissolving. So yeah, it was a a different experience for sure. [Music] And that was Kagoshima for us. From robot dinosaurs to volcano views and the best yakitori we’ve ever had, this city surprises at every turn. And hopefully we’ve convinced you to add Kagoshima to your Japan bucket list. If you enjoyed this video, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit that bell for more Japan adventures. And we will see you in the next one. Bye. [Music]

We spent an unforgettable 48 hours exploring Kagoshima, and it honestly surprised us in the best way. During our short trip, we relaxed by the beach, visited the Kagoshima Aquarium, explored the castle ruins and enjoyed the stunning Shiroyama viewpoint. Each stop had something unique, and the city’s calm vibe made everything even better. And yes… the food was absolutely incredible, from local specialties to small hidden spots we stumbled upon🌋

If you have more time in Kagoshima, we highly recommend visiting the Sakurajima Island itself, or even taking a day trip to the nearby onsen towns for a deeper, slower look at this beautiful region. ✨
We will be sharing a blog post about it soon so it can hopefully help you plan your own time here!

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0:00 – Welcome!
0:38 – Original Hotel!
1:09 – Kagoshima’s Shotengai
1:58 – Main Shrine
2:25 – Best view of a Volcano!
3:20- Samurai and Castles
3:33 – Workshop
3:43 – Food in Kagoshima
5:22 – Day 2
6:02 – Sengan-en and Cat Shrine
7:11 – Beach with Volcano View
9:05 – City Aquarium
10:11 – Special and Unique Experience
12:34 – Thank you for watching!

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