Adventures in Japan

The Day After Day the First: Day the Second: Kagoshima

Well, I slept like crap. But we got up and out of the hotel just after seven in the morning, without even partaking of the free coffee.

We lugged our stuff over to the train station and caught the train from Miyazaki to Kagoshima. It was a two hour ride. I slept for about one hour and forty-five minutes of it. But the sleep was goggle-like in its efficacy. I had on some cranky pants. But Kagoshima seemed intent on making me happy.

The visitor information center had tonnes of pamphlets and maps and timetables, all in English. Our hotel, Area One, took in our bags well before check in time and told us that our bags would be in our room by the time we checked in. They then sent us on our way with some bottled water because the day was beginning to really warm up.

Also, there was a man in an enormous blow up suit walking around just outside our hotel. That was odd.


There is a bus in town that drives you around to all the major sites. We hopped on that bus and then hopped off somewhere up a mountain. This city is very, very green. Very scenic. And, unlike Osaka, it feels cooler in the shade. That is nice. Sakurajima, the volcano not all that far away in the water, is also very nice. It sits there, in the water, and steams. It used to be an island, then it erupted and it is now connected to the mainland.


We didn't spend too much time on the mountain cuz we wanted to get to the garden. Lots of green today. But before we went to the garden, we went for lunch. We went to a family style restaurant called Joyfull. (that's not a typo) And it was. (full of joy, not typos) It was nothing mind blowing. The food wasn't to die for or anything. My booth seat had tears in it, there were stains on the blinds, but it didn't matter. The food was good and cheap and so was the coffee.

After filling up on joy, we took on the park.

It was parky. What? I'm tired. I'm always so, so tired.


The park was green and well laid out and had all sorts of interesting side paths that we would've liked to go down (or rather, up), but there was no time. They also had some displays of local crafts. One thing this area of Japan is known for is their cut glass glassware. It is gorgeous. And priced to match. You want a 200 dollar shot glass? I know were you can find one.

This area of Japan is also known for helping spearhead the modernization movement/Meiji Restoration in Japan. There was a family that ruled over this neck of the woods for over 700 years, trading with everyone from everywhere, and learning whatever they could whenever they could. When the white devils showed up, demanding that Japan abandon its closed borders policy, they were smart enough to say aloud, "Okay" and then mutter quietly under their breath, "So we can see how you make your guns, make your guns better than you make your guns and then shoot you with our superior guns".

We also stopped by the aquarium. There were fish there. And weird fish-like mammals. Dolphins, they were called. I think.

After that, we wandered around the trendy part of town. Because we are both so very trendy. We ate Mexican. I had a rice burrito.

We then spent way too long trying to find a place that served the locally brewed beer. We failed and returned home defeated.

Other than that, though, Kagoshima rocked. If you ever come here, I would recommend spending more than one day.