My partner & I are into thermal activity and would like to see Sakurajima Volcano if we have time. Is Kagoshima worth a day or two's diversion? We've got the JR pass so why not get down there and see it? I'd love some comments from others here about Kyushu. Thanks people!

Oh, yes, it is worth a day's diversion. I have been planning to return to Kyushu for a week-long vacation.

I flew from Tokyo Haneda to Kagoshima on a Visit Japan Fare just before the World Cup started in 2002 (the fares were half-off because of the W.C. so the flights were about $50-$60, but still great price today at $110).

Anyway, I took the bus from Kagoshima aiprot to Ibusuki and stayed at one of the resort hotels there with some nice baths. And I got the treatment of being buried in hot sand on the beach that Ibusuki is famous for.

Went to Kagoshima station and was deciding whether to stay there or go on to Kumamoto when a man, former English teacher, walked up to help. We chatted for awhile. I decided to go to Kumamoto, but I am planning to return to Kagoshima as I think a visit to Sakurajima would be wonderful. There is a photo of that man at www.billk.org on the "Japan, Bali, Hong Kong" page. Also there are a couple of photos of Beppu and a shot from a JR Kyushu train on the "Japan" page.

Kumamoto was friendly city with a great castle. There is a very famous garden next to the caste. Spent the night in Kumamoto at the New Otani hotel next to the station. Got good help there with reservations at another hotel for the next night in Fukuoka.

Took the train from Kumamoto to Beppu. If I saw Aso-san from the train, I didn't recognize it, but it was a scenic ride. Beppu was interesting and I may return there. I continued on from there to Fukuoka for the night.

There is now a shinkansen line part of the way between Fukuoka and Kagoshima. It is quite new.

I think that you might enjoy visiting Unzen and the Shimabara peninsula. Unzen Onsen looks like it would be great. Shimabara has ferry access to to/from Kumamoto. You pass by the region when travelling between Fukuoka and Nagasaki. It is in Nagasaki-ken and I am not happy that I will miss it on my trip this month.

Here is an interesting/fun webpage.
http://www.pref.nagasaki.jp/naisnet/en/
I highly recommend viewing the movie available from that page by pressing the movie camera button.

Also try this from the NaIS.net main page
Click on the "Great Plans" link in the left nav bar
Click on one of the regions, like Shimabara.
Click on Enter.

Saga-ken between Fukuoka and Nagasaki, esp. if you are interested in pottery:
http://www.pref.saga.lg.jp/at-conten...u/english.html

Just in case you aren't familiar with the JNTO website, here are some links with info on Kyushu:
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/RTG/PTG/index.html
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/spn/kagoshima/welcome.html
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/spn/
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/RTG/RI/index.html

And Miyazaki-ken has famous golfing and a big waterpark.

Big thanks mr w. A quick re-work on my intinerary is now in order!

We will spend 10 days (around 3-5 hours)on the train! Just as well we love trains!

Another question pls!
Is Kagoshimachuo the city station of Kagoshima or is Sendai, the city station?

In LP Japan (1997) it says Nishi-Kagoshima is southern station and Kagoshima is the north. When I input "Kagoshima" in hyperdia.com, I get Kagoshimachuo. When I look up the schedule for the journey, I get Sendai (Kagoshima)! Am I missing something? Tks for any assistance!

Looks like Kagoshima-chuo is a terminal for the Tsubame shinkansen line. Also, when I put Hakata-Ibusuki into hyperdia that it shows a transfer at Kagoshima-chu station from the shinkansen to the local line south.

I see that Sendai is a Tsubame stop 13 minutes before Kagoshima-chuo. I don't see "Sendai (Kagoshima)" at hyperdia, but that is just a way of identifying the town of Sendai in Kagoshima prefecture. (the big city Sendai is Sendai, Miyagi).

In hyperdia, I think "Kagoshima" is the town center. You would take the city tram from the JR station to get there.

Funny, but nishi means west. What LP calls Kagoshima is probably Kagoshimachuo, if LP is referring to a JR station.

According to hyperdia, there is a Minami Kagoshima (South Kagoshima) station two stops on the local line south from Kagoshima-chuo. Those must be the two stations that LP was referring to.-

Thanks mrwunrfl. Thinking of returning to Honshu via Miyazaki route to Hiroshima, just for a change of scenery instead of returning the same route via Tosu. I think we'll wing it after Kagoshima and see where we end up! Thanks again.

Kagoshima-chuo is the right station, for sure:
http://www.jrkyushu.co.jp/english/tsubame_top.html

And "Kagoshima" is a station on the local JR Nippo Line, as is Kagoshimachuo. Try Kagoshimachuo - Kagoshima, departing at 12:50 to see the schedule.

Are you still going to Nagasaki?

If you only write one part of your trip report, please do the part on Kagoshima the ride along the eastern side of Kyushu.

Idenoyama Firefly Festival (Idenoyama Hotaru Matsuri)
Crowds of up to 50,000 people gather here in the evenings during this season to see the area's many fireflies dart about the rivers and grass in the area. A unique aspect of early summer in Japan.
Idenoyama Park, south Kobayashi City
Miyazaki Prefecture
Mid-May - Mid-June

don't forget to have the famous kagoshima kuro buta(black pig) ramen.

mr wunrfl-plan on leaving Kyoto 23 May and travelling to Nagasaki in time to catch some of the sites around Urakami then back to hotel for sake shots at 6 pm! Off to dinner somewhere astoundingly cheap and good (suggestions pls!) then up early to see Fukasai-ji Zen Temple & 26 Martyrs Memorial etc. Quick breakfast & on the train to Kagoshima! My head is reeling! Can't wait to re-aquaint myself with some warm sake!

Thank you for the food tip, kuranosuke. I lurve ramen! Not so sure about black pigs!

Only six more sleeps! I'll die of overexcitement if I keep this up!

Hi Lyndie we spent two weeks in Miyazaki in September last year and went down to Kagoshima but unfortunately did not get to see the volcano because a typhoon has recently passed through and it was too dangerous. However, we did visit Kirishina National Park which is very close. We ended up going to an onsen in the park and having a meal in one of the restaurants dotted throughout the park.I would thoroughly recommend it- the park is absolutely beautiful and of course very few western tourists visit the area so it is quite authentic.If you like I could try and find the name of the onsen and the restaurant connected to it. The onsen was super cheap overlooking this valley and a babbling stream. In terms of taking the Shinkansen from Miyazaki to Hiroshima we did that as well. I would advise you to take a photo of the inside of the train.The backrests look like "mickey mouse" ears and we did not encounter anything like that again. Are you going to stay in Miyazaki for any length of time? If so, I would recommend visiting Seagai for a different experience (largest indoor pool in the world) and also the saitobaru burial grounds.

albaaust, please post the name of the onsen that you visited.

albaaust-thanks so much for the info you posted. Unfortunately we won't have much more than 1-2 days down south. We'll arrive in Kagoshima lunchtime, dump our bags in a locker, check out a small part of the city, get a ferry over to Sakurajima then hop a train to Ibusuki for the evening. Early morning train back to Kagoshima and on to Miyazaki for a few hours then hop a evening train onto to Hiroshima. We decided to go to Kyushu at the last minute so we really don't have much time. I did not want to miss that volcano! I only hope we can see it! We have a little flexibility in our trip plans so may stay another night in Kyushu. I have a feeling this will not be our final trip to Nihon.

mrwunrfl-thanks a heap for those websites you posted-much obliged. The info on the JNTO site is truly wunrfl. 4 more sleeps! OMG! A huge Arigato to all those lovely people who have helped us plan this trip!

Hi mrwunrfl the name of the restaurant was Kinokonosato - hope I got that right. The people serving us could not speak English but we had our son who could speak a little. We had a beautiful noodle meal overlooking the river and then went into the onsen which cost about 200 yen. It was fairly simple but an experience not to be missed. We have some wonderful photographs of the spectacular scenery.

There is an onsen on Sakurajima called Furusato Onsen & a hotel called Furusato Kanko Hotel. We are thinking of having one night here and one night at either Ibusuki Kaijo Hotel or Ibusuki Kanko Hotel. Anyone styed at any of these properties. The other alternative we have is to stay at a cheapie in Kagoshima for 2 nts and do day trips to Sakurajima and Ibusuki. I'm leaning toward the luxury options as we are staying at Toyoko Inns in Kyoto, Nagasaki, Hiroshima & Nagoya and Okayama Intl Villas, to save some money so we can splurge on at least one big night out and a couple of really good hotels. Any thoughts guys & gals?