Category: Kagoshima

Present Situation & Tour Photos, 18 Mar 2020

Present stituation

Given this situation due to the COVID-19, schools, universities and colleges are closed and big events are requested to refrain from holding by Prime Minister Abe. And we have lost most of foreign tourists who visit other countries.

However, I still had some foreign tourists who wanted to join my tours and I successfully ran all those tours and they enjoyed it.

Here in Japan, we have relatively fewer infected and dead compared to many other countries, thanks to their hard work who work at medical centres and our efforts of keeping hands clean with soap and alcohol and wearing a mask when go out. Actually, I haven’t got infected though I have had the chances to go visit touristic places.

We have alcohol bottles set at many entrances of restaurants / convenience stores / department stores / any public buildings for hand washing. I would like to tell you that this is considered to be the way we Japanese have practiced to keep ourselves clean and healthy. And I believe this is the best way to protect yourself and people around you. Follow us.

Let me show you how I enjoyed running tours in February and March despite this situation, as follows.

Tour Photos

Above are a DJ group “VIZE” from Germany. Check them out on Spotify!

 

 

The end of Tsuyu – Rainy Season –

JMA, Japan Meteorological Agency, announced the rainy season was over on 13 July in the southern Kyushu and 20 July in the northern Kyushu. We are happy to welcome the beginning of summer! But be careful, these days summers are getting much hotter than what they used to be. In my childhood, summers were like 30 – 32 degrees Celsius (86 – 90 F) at the highest air temperature, but in the recent years it can reach 36 – 38 C (97 – 100 F) . So those of you who are planning to visit Japan should be well prepared for the heat, you can get heatstroke. To prevent it, you should wear a hat / cap, sip water / sport drink, take a break in the shade once in a while, for example. Moreover, it’s so muggy, steaming hot until the mid September. You should also prepare spare clothes.

October Tour in Kagoshima

It’s been a while, since I updated the blog. I was doing good, on tours to Kumamoto, Aso, Amakusa, Gokanosho and so on. Just didn’t have a spare time for updating.
Kagoshima is awesome as usual, Sakura-jima volcano has been erupting constantly but the citizens in Kagoshima don’t seem to be bothered by the ashes from the crater, and get along with them as always. It was a round trip starting from “Gajo-en”, a beautiful accommodation known as one of the most “want-to-stay-someday” accommodations in Japan, offers Japanese traditional folk houses as the guestrooms in Kirishima city. We rode a car ferry to cross the sea to Sakura-jima active volcano to see the closer view, then headed for Chiran district to visit Samurai houses and “Tokko peace museum”. You can learn why those Kamikaze pilots devoted themselves to destroy US battle ships in order to defend their homeland, in this museum. Rest in peace.

Tour in Kagoshima

Kagoshima is located in the southernmost on Kyushu island,

map_kyushu2

known for a birth place of “Mr Saigo”, the leader of “The Last Samurai” rebellion, active volcano “Sakura-jima” erupting constantly near the city of Kagoshima, “Kuro Buta” black pork eaten as Shabu-Shabu etc., “Tori-sashi” sashimi (raw meat) of chicken and so on. This time I visited “Mt Kaimon （開聞岳）” located in the very southernmost edge of Kyushu island, “JR Nishi-Oyama station”, the southernmost train station of JR (=Japan Railway company), green tea plantation in Chiran district and “Chiran Tokko (Kamikaze) peace museum with guests.

It was a long ride starting from Kagoshima city 9:00 and came back around 18:00. Check out the photos as below!