Kagoshima

Kagoshima is a laid-back, flowery, palm-lined southern getaway on the Satsuma Peninsula blessed with mild weather, outgoing people, and a smoking volcano out in the bay. Ancient relics believed to date back to 9,000 BC" indicate that humans have been in the area a very long time. It became a center of trade with Korea and China, and was an important fortress town from the mid-16th century until the Meiji Restoration. This is where Saigo Takamori and his rebel followers (reduced to a few hundred from 40,000) made their last stand against the new Emperor on September 24, 1877, chased here after having sacked Kumamoto Castle. Facing 300,000 well-supplied troops, they had no chance, and Takamori was injured in the fight. Rather than face capture, he ordered one of his own men to cut off his head. Takamori was posthumously pardoned and honored as a national hero. His bronze statue stands near the museum, and the site of the final showdown is commemorated on 450-foot Shiro-yama, to the southeast of downtown.

Today, the area is famous not only for its history, but for the world's smallest mandarin oranges (only an inch across) and the largest white daikon radishes—grown in the rich volcanic soil, they can span 3 feet and weigh in at more than 100 lbs. There's also kurobuta, a special breed of black pig that locals convert into breaded and fried cutlets called tonkatsu.