Kagoshima
A few weeks ago, I did the overnight bus with a friend out to Kagoshima, a little resort town on the southern tip of Kyushu. The ride out there was about ten hours, but that owes a lot to the Japanese insistence on safe speeds and bus drivers stopping for a break every 4 hours. In any event, it's really far from Osaka and was a welcome change of scenery.
What was the best thing about the city? The volcanoes, of course! I've never seen a real volcano, to my recollection, and I was blown away (not literally). This city not only had 
a big-ass volcano, it had two big-ass volcanoes. It's amazing to look up and see them dominating the skyline. They're even active too, smoke and steam was always drifting out of the tops. We were going to try climbing one, but the weather turned sour and there wasn't enough time. Never-the-less, it was still killer to think that at any moment, there could be a massive eruption which would wipe out the city with me in it.
Another fun new experience that I would have put in my post-volcano eruption obituary was getting buried in the sand. Kagoshima is home to the Japan-famous sunaburo, which, if I'm not mistaken, means "sand bath." Hot springs are a national pastime, for sure, but sometimes water just gets boring. Apparently, someone happened to find a spot on the beach heated by some geothermal activity and decided it felt really good to get buried in the nearly burning hot sand. It does feel pretty relaxing, but you have to be careful not to cook yourself. Really, you could be slow-roasted in there. There's a few warning signs not to stay in more than 10-15 minutes. They give you a robe and towel to keep the scalding hot sand off your skin.
The food was a bit of a kick. I definitely spent too much eating, but that's what vacation is for, right? We went to a fun little (actually, big) somen shop that has a wierd whirl-pool in the middle of the table. Somen is a kind of noodle that's served cold and dipped into a soup. They put a big bowl of the noodles in the middle of the table, you toss them into the whirlpool to separate and cool (reverse boil?), stick your chopsticks into the swirl and pluck some out, then dip them into the soup and eat. The weather was rather cold for a summer dish, however.
As a technology nerd, I found the local sea-transit vehicles fascinating. Namely, the hydrofoil boat. Thumbing through a travel brochure on the way out, I saw picture of it and knew I had to ride it. Then I saw how much a ride cost and decided perhaps I would be better off to just get a few snapshots. Nothing like a jet-engine strapped to a boat with stilts underneath. That thing literally flies through the water.
Like all major cities in Japan, Kagoshima has an aquarium. I love aquariums, and this one was right on for one reason: whale sharks. It was the first time for me to see a baby/juvenile whale shark. The first time I ever saw any such animal was when I came out here and went to the Osaka aquarium, a life-changing event. So this little one out in Kagoshima got me psyched up pretty good. I hope to be able to see those fish in like 20 or 30 years when they're as big as a school bus.
The last day we were there, we took in some culture and history. Driving in the rental car to the next town over, we checked out the museum dedicated to the conflict with Britian following the end of isolationism and the kamikaze memorial museum. It was really shameful to see European and Ameircan newspapers in the mid-1800's speaking so lowly of Japan, but I guess they did that with every non-Europe-made country. Kagoshima was the base of operations for kamikaze fighters, hence the museum. Not quite as somber and depressing as the A-bomb museum, maybe because it was all in Japanese, but enlightening just the same. Just over a thousand men flew on those missions, and they had pictures, stories, and memorabilia from almost all of them. There's a different feel you get when you go to a musuem dedicated to the losing side of a war. More Americans need to do that.
A few weeks ago, I did the overnight bus with a friend out to Kagoshima, a little resort town on the southern tip of Kyushu. The ride out there was about ten hours, but that owes a lot to the Japanese insistence on safe speeds and bus drivers stopping for a break every 4 hours. In any event, it's really far from Osaka and was a welcome change of scenery.
What was the best thing about the city? The volcanoes, of course! I've never seen a real volcano, to my recollection, and I was blown away (not literally). This city not only had 
a big-ass volcano, it had two big-ass volcanoes. It's amazing to look up and see them dominating the skyline. They're even active too, smoke and steam was always drifting out of the tops. We were going to try climbing one, but the weather turned sour and there wasn't enough time. Never-the-less, it was still killer to think that at any moment, there could be a massive eruption which would wipe out the city with me in it.
Another fun new experience that I would have put in my post-volcano eruption obituary was getting buried in the sand. Kagoshima is home to the Japan-famous sunaburo, which, if I'm not mistaken, means "sand bath." Hot springs are a national pastime, for sure, but sometimes water just gets boring. Apparently, someone happened to find a spot on the beach heated by some geothermal activity and decided it felt really good to get buried in the nearly burning hot sand. It does feel pretty relaxing, but you have to be careful not to cook yourself. Really, you could be slow-roasted in there. There's a few warning signs not to stay in more than 10-15 minutes. They give you a robe and towel to keep the scalding hot sand off your skin.
The food was a bit of a kick. I definitely spent too much eating, but that's what vacation is for, right? We went to a fun little (actually, big) somen shop that has a wierd whirl-pool in the middle of the table. Somen is a kind of noodle that's served cold and dipped into a soup. They put a big bowl of the noodles in the middle of the table, you toss them into the whirlpool to separate and cool (reverse boil?), stick your chopsticks into the swirl and pluck some out, then dip them into the soup and eat. The weather was rather cold for a summer dish, however.
As a technology nerd, I found the local sea-transit vehicles fascinating. Namely, the hydrofoil boat. Thumbing through a travel brochure on the way out, I saw picture of it and knew I had to ride it. Then I saw how much a ride cost and decided perhaps I would be better off to just get a few snapshots. Nothing like a jet-engine strapped to a boat with stilts underneath. That thing literally flies through the water.Like all major cities in Japan, Kagoshima has an aquarium. I love aquariums, and this one was right on for one reason: whale sharks. It was the first time for me to see a baby/juvenile whale shark. The first time I ever saw any such animal was when I came out here and went to the Osaka aquarium, a life-changing event. So this little one out in Kagoshima got me psyched up pretty good. I hope to be able to see those fish in like 20 or 30 years when they're as big as a school bus.
The last day we were there, we took in some culture and history. Driving in the rental car to the next town over, we checked out the museum dedicated to the conflict with Britian following the end of isolationism and the kamikaze memorial museum. It was really shameful to see European and Ameircan newspapers in the mid-1800's speaking so lowly of Japan, but I guess they did that with every non-Europe-made country. Kagoshima was the base of operations for kamikaze fighters, hence the museum. Not quite as somber and depressing as the A-bomb museum, maybe because it was all in Japanese, but enlightening just the same. Just over a thousand men flew on those missions, and they had pictures, stories, and memorabilia from almost all of them. There's a different feel you get when you go to a musuem dedicated to the losing side of a war. More Americans need to do that.
posted by Nick at 8:33 AM
1 Comments:
I like those Hydrofoil boats too. The Meteor Plaza place in Shichirui had one that would ferry you out to the national preserve off the coast. Those things are just fun to watch.
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