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 Sakurajima

桜島

In three words (or more): Active volcanoes spitting ash.

Recommended for: Volcano lovers and onsen nuts/people with a day to spare in Kagoshima.

Size: About 100km²

Population: About 4,500

Boats depart from: Kagoshima’s Sakurajima Ferry Port

Warning: As Sakurajima is not really an island anymore, this island’s entry is going to take more the form of a blog than an island profile.

Intro:

Our real plan was to go to Iojima in Kagoshima, a dangerously volcanic island with a world class djembe drum school, and allegedly Japan’s best outdoor onsen. But after looking at the weather report and seeing rain, rain, rain, we cancelled our plans and settled on a city break in Kagoshima.

As is tradition, after cancelling our plan, we awoke to bright skies and sun, sun, sun all the day long. Too late to double back and go to Iojima, we decided to see a totally different, more famous volcano and island: Sakurajima.

Though Sakurajima is not exactly an island anymore, it did used to be. Up until 1914 Sakurajima was isolated from the mainland of Kyushu, but thanks to an almighty eruption the east side of the island is now connected to the Osumi peninsular in southern Kyushu.

Getting There:

It was easy enough to get to Sakurajima. The boats run every 15 minutes or so, 24 hours a day to and from Kagoshima. The boat costs 160 yen per person and cars start from 1180 yen for a small car (drivers fee included) and more for larger vehicles. As it was the two of us and we had rented a car, a one way ticket for us cost 1180 + 160 = 1340 yen.

The other option is to come to Sakurajima by car from the Osumi peninsular. I only recommend this option if you are actually starting from the Osumi peninsular side. If you are starting in Kagoshima, this is a long trip. Although you could blend it in with a trip to Kirishima National Park/Kirishima Onsen.

Getting Around:

As I said, we took a rental car with us. NicoNico-Rentacar do the cheapest rental cars that we know of in Japan. They go from 3600 yen fro 24 hours and 2400 yen for 12 hours. As it goes, that is cheap! They have a very limited English language website and a much more comprehensive Japanese one. So language helps here. Also don’t forget that you are going to need an international drivers licence if you want to rent a car or a motorised vehicle in Japan.

I recommend taking a car to Sakurajima. It is a pretty big place and a car will give you the freedom to stop where you want, take your time in an onsen or a museum, or even find a cafe to have lunch in. Sakurajima is certainly not recommended as a loop on foot, and cycling it is also a pretty bold idea, but don’t let me put you off of trying. There are tour buses which will take you to all of the main sights costing 2500 yen for 3-4 hours leaving from the port in Sakurajima, or you can catch a tour bus from Kagoshima which will cost you around 4000 yen per person for around 6 hours. There are also local buses but they are really infrequent and I wouldn’t recommend trying to see Sakurajima using them.

Let’s say that you can’t or don’t want to rent a car. Maybe you don’t have your international drivers permit. Quite a few of the main attractions in Sakurajima are situation within walking distance of the ferry terminal. The Visitors Centre, Nagisa Foot Onsen, the Michi-no-eki (local produce store), Dinosaur Park and the Nagisa Lava Train are all walkable in a day trip.

So how you get around will really depend on how you want to enjoy your day. A car buys you freedom, but you could have a good day out on foot.

What to do:

Visitors Centre - On arrival we went straight to the visitors centre about 500m from the ferry terminal. A lot of the information is in English and they play a 13 minute video for visitors with English subtitles. It is all free of charge and really informative. I left knowing a little bit more about volcanoes than before I came, and a lot more about Sakurajima.

Nagisa Foot Onsen - The longest foot spa in Japan is a tenuous record to hold. That said the winner is … Sakurajima!! Congratulations! Right behind the visitors centre you can find it, use it, warm your feet and crack on with your day. The Japanese believe in the health benefits of soaking your feet in hot springs. They say it helps to circulate the blood and warm the whole body. And I can’t argue with that.

Sabo Volcano Centre - Not a particularly helpful museum for an English speaker, this free volcanic research museum’s main attraction is the computer on the right of the entrance, where you can watch recent violent eruptions and truly appreciate the scale and the magnitude of the volcanoes before you.

View Points - There are several view points to look at the volcanoes all over Sakurajima. None are more impressive than Yunohira View Point. This is some 300m up on the mountain side and gets you face to face with an ash spitting, lava spewing monster.

The Burried Tori - Kurokami Shrine has a tori (a gate to a temple) that was buried in the 1914 eruption so deep that the top of it barely pokes out of the ground now. This is a nice spot to glimpse how a volcano can change the landscape.

The Dinosaur Park - This children’s park has several large models of dinosaurs in it  and a few play ground jungle gyms things. A bit of a trek up a hill to get there and great for younger kids.

Onsens:

There are 4 onsens in Sakurajima. (1) Magma Onsen is right next to the port. This is the same source that feeds hot water to the foot baths, a brown, iron-rich spring. (2 & 3) The Seaside Hotel and the Sakurajima Hotel are side by side in the south of the island. They both have onsen which are open to day-trippers for a reasonable price and both have lovely ocean views. (4) Shirahama Onsen Centre in the north is more like a day spa with a swimming pool vibe. The water is supposed to be good though.

Enoshima Onsen - Now I will let you in on a little secret. We didn’t use a Sakurajima onsen. On the day we visited the ash was so thick in the air that we didn’t want to bathe outside in it. Instead we went to an onsen that looked even better. Enoshima Onsen is a well kept secret 10 minutes by car past Sakurajima on the Osumi Peninsula. Enoshima Onsen is super local! the sign is tiny and only in Japanese. But the water is the attraction. Two springs, one hot and one cold, flowing at 60 litres per minute. Some of the softest, cleanest, healing water you could imagine at 300 yen per person inside a shack in someones back garden. This is legit. This is authentic.

Accommodation:

There are a few places to stay in Sakurajima. It is also totally possible as a day trip.

Food and Drink:

Several cafes and restaurants are dotted around Sakurajima. Some of them look really cute and tasteful and some really local and authentic. The island is famous for its giant daikon (white radish) which seems to thrive off of volcanic ash. You can buy it at most shops in pickled form. There is also volcanic ash ice cream … yummy! And you should try the amberjack fish which they farm in the ocean around Sakurajima.

1 Day itinerary:

Rent a car.

Drive to the Sakurajima Port in Kagoshima and catch the boat across.

When you arrive go to visitors centre. Check out the video as well as the museum and educate yourself on volcanoes. Dip your feet in the onsen and walk along the lava trail.

Drive to Yunohira view point and get up close and personal with the beast.

Go to your onsen of choice and find a little place for lunch.

Check out more of the view points along the way.

Go to the buried tori at Kurokami shrine.

Drive back … Dinosaur Park if you have kids, Michi-no-eki for shopping. Back on the boat. Bye bye Sakurajima.