A 3 night stay in Kagoshima…a favourite place for us
But first we have to move fast as the volcano has erupted.
We ended up staying at the Fairfield for 2 nights as the weather is not cooperating. We are situated on the beach which is loved by paddle boarders and we have great views of the volcano and the surrounding area. Our window will be our TV for the day…lots to see. We had a restful day free of riding and feel ready to head out.
Lunch at Lawson’s which is in front of our hotel. This Lawson’s has work by a local artist on display and for sale. Forgot to mention that there is also a Michi-no-Eki beside our hotel…a great source for meals and supplies.
Some nourishment Konbini style. Chicken Nanban, pork dumplings (yum!), and salad. The weather looks good and the volcano seems to be calm. We plan to ride the south coast of Sakurajima, below the volcano followed by a short ferry ride from Sakurajima to Kagoshima.
Usually a Konbini offers a microwave, hot water for drinks, etc. This one has a toaster oven, a nice addition. Konbinis do far more than offer food and groceries. It is a place to pay bills, buy ferry and concert tickets, zeroxing, ATM for locals and foreigners, etc. They are an essential hub in the lives of locals.
Back in our room we could see that the winds are very strong ….and a headwind.🤨. The dark sky is a bit concerning around the volcano…we’ll watch what it does.
Another perk of staying at the Fairfield is that they usher us inside with our trikes. We park them on the main floor at the end of a hallway of guest rooms.
Last night while we were sleeping, the volcano had a major eruption and the volcanic plume reached 14,400 feet high. Volcanic rocks reached a distance over 1 km from the crater. This is the worst eruption from this volcano in 24 months. We saw footage that showed massive flames reaching high into the sky with the dark flow of the eruption. We had no idea this had happened. My sister in Canada mentioned to us in a phone call that there had been an eruption last night in Japan. Imagine our surprise that it had happened while we were sleeping next door. Yikes…a bit too close for comfort.
Oh dear, the weather has changed incredibly fast. Suddenly the sky is a swirling dark mass. We may have to rethink our route.
A video of what we experienced. The wind was suddenly so powerful with a darkness that covered the area.
Snap!…one minute the sky is blue and then it’s black with swirling intensity, so it is official, we are turning around and will take the ferry. Hopefully it is running. We feel like we are eating ash…masks are on.
This volcano is very active and quite formidable. The residents of the island live with this reality every day. There are always three ferries on standby in case volcanic activity presents life threatening conditions.
The ferry route is posted on this map on the ferry. The volcano is located on what was an island, Sakurajima. An historic and powerful eruption in 1914 connected the island to the Osumi Peninsula (on the east side) through lava flows and it remains thus to this day. This is the most active volcano in Japan. Kagoshima located due west across the waterhas suffered from eruptions over the years. The population of Sakurajima is several thousand residents.
There are two ways to travel to Sakurajima from Kagoshima by water…, a quick ferry to the western side of Sakurajima and the ferry we are taking from Tarumizu to Kagoshima Port. The other option is to ride the south coast of Sakurajima followed by a short ferry connector to Kagoshima - a good idea on a clear day. This hydrofoil vessel takes passengers from Kagoshima to Yakushima.
We are at our hotel in Kagoshima and the volcano is our view. It is hard to believe that it looked so threatening a short time ago. It shows us how volatile and unstable this volcano can be.
We have grown to enjoy seeing Ground Ball, while in Japan. It is a sport similar to golf but more relaxed. This sports shop is selling ground ball clubs etc.
A block from our hotel, we found a delightful family run restaurant. The mom is the cook, the father is her assistant and the daughter serves the meals. Without a doubt it was one of the best meals we have had. The food was delicious with great ingredients …the mom is an incredible cook. The small restaurant was very busy.
Barry had researched about this restaurant and we wanted to go for dinner. It was just down the road from our hotel and is tucked away on the second floor of a nondescript building. We had a hard time finding it. What a gem of a restaurant.
