Regions & prefectures
JapanRegions & prefectures
Kagoshima
A permanently erupting volcano facing the city, and the old domain of Satsuma.
- Capital
- Kagoshima
- Status
- Prefecture
- Region
- Kyūshū and Okinawa
- Must-see
- The Sakurajima volcano
- Local specialty
- Sweet potato shōchū, kurobuta pork
Sakurajima throws out ash almost daily four kilometres from the city centre; residents keep regulation yellow bags to clear the fallout and schoolchildren wear helmets. The Satsuma domain, near-independent under the Tokugawa thanks to trade with the Ryūkyū, was one of the two engines of the Meiji Restoration. To the south, Yakushima island holds thousand-year-old cedars under seven metres of annual rainfall.
What to see there
Places, dishes and traditions tied to this territory.
In the magazine
Articles that cover this topic.