The Ibusuki, Chiran, and Makurazaki areas offer tourist attractions such as Kinpusan (Mt. Kinpusan), Ibusuki Hot Springs, and Chiran Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots, tourist events such as Fukiagehama Sand Festival, Mendon, and Kawabe Nijichiichi Market, and local gourmet foods such as Karukan, Kagoshima ramen, and chicken rice.
Ibusuki is one of Kyushu's representative hot spring resorts. Located in the south of Satsuma Peninsula, it is filled with a tropical mood. If you come to Ibusuki, you should definitely try "suna-mushi" (sand steaming). It is a unique bathing method in which visitors are buried in sand heated by hot spring water, and it is popular for its smooth skin.
At the Sunamushi Kaikan Sunaraku, a drop-in bathhouse, you can enjoy it at the beach at low tide, or in a special area during high tide or when it rains.
At the archaeological museum "Jiyuukan COCCO Hashimure," visitors can try their hand at anguine weaving or making stone ornaments, and at "Flower Park Kagoshima," a 36.5-hectare site with subtropical plants from around the world, visitors can enjoy the view of Kinko Bay and flowers as they please.
Chiran, where samurai residences still remain, has been selected as a national Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings. The Chiran Buke Yashiki Garden offers a tour of six dry landscape gardens and a pond garden with a pond.
You can also taste local cuisine in the samurai residence at Kojo-an. Enjoy local specialties such as sake sushi and ryobo mochi (rice cakes) cooked with local sake in a tatami room. In addition, there are also restaurants where you can enjoy Satsuma cuisine such as sashimi of kibinago (dried young sardines) and slow-cooked pork bones of Satsuma Kurobuta (pork belly).
For tea time, the tea room attached to the "Satsuma British Museum Tea World" is recommended. The museum introduces the history of Satsuma from the perspective of England, with which Satsuma had friendly relations, and you can enjoy an authentic afternoon tea.
Makurazaki Station on the JR Ibusuki Makurazaki Line is the southernmost station on the Japanese mainland. Makurazaki is the center of the bonito pelagic fishing industry, and there are many bonito flakes factories in the city. When viewed from high ground, the smoke rising from the factories looks like the steam from a hot spring.
At the Makurazaki Fish Center, you can try your hand at making dried bonito flakes and shaving bonito flakes from straw. At the "Satsuma Shuzo Hanawatogawa Distillery Meiji Kura," you can tour a shochu (distilled spirit) factory that preserves the traditional methods of production.
Surigahama Onsen, Yajigayu Onsen, Nigetsuda Onsen, and other hot springs are collectively called Ibusuki Onsen, which is said to have more than 500 hot spring sources and boasts the greatest abundance of hot spring water in Southern Kyushu. One of the most popular hot springs among young and old alike is the natural Sunamushi hot spring in Surigahama Onsen, which is rare in Japan. Suna-mushi is ...»
This is a scenic area where the samurai residence streets and gardens have been preserved as the remnants of the samurai alley layout of the 18th lord of Chiran, Hisamine Shimazu's era, some 260 years ago. Each mansion is designed to serve as a defensive barrier like a fortification. Most of the gardens in Chiran are karesansui (dry landscape garden) style, but only the Mori Residence Garden is a ...»
Ibusuki Hakusuikan is a representative hot spring ryokan of Ibusuki Onsen, where you can enjoy the charms of Japanese-style ryokan, such as the scenery surrounded by blue sea and greenery, Ibusuki's unique sand baths, and the Genroku baths. Ibusuki Hakusuikan is a long-established ryokan established in 1947. Originally started as Kagoshima Hakusuikan in Kagoshima City, it was moved to its current...»
This is a spectacular open-air bath located in Ibusuki, a hot spring resort that has repeatedly won first place in the "Best One-Day Onsen & Spa" category on a popular review site. Located right by the sea, the baths are close to Takeyama, which is known for its strange rock formations. This one-day hot spring bath offers a view of Mt. Kaimon and has both Japanese and Western-style open-air b...»
The birthplace of the revolving Soumen-nagashi, this area has been selected as one of the "100 Best Water Townships", and visitors can enjoy Soumen-nagashi throughout the year by taking advantage of the cool and abundant spring water. This sight is a joy to behold, and the aroma of the wood and the sound of the water will fill you up inside. Here, 100,000 tons of spring water per day is utilized,...»
A somen-nagashi (fine noodle float) is set up over a clear stream that beautifully reflects the four seasons. It is an attractive restaurant with tatami room seating. The atmosphere is characterized by a calm and pure Japanese style. On the first floor, there is a covered, semi-outdoor area with table seating, and seating by the water is especially popular; on the second floor, the tatami room se...»
Known throughout Japan as the birthplace of the revolving Soumen-nagashi, it attracts approximately 200,000 visitors annually. It is a popular cool gourmet experience in Kagoshima Prefecture. In 1962, the Soumen-nagashi began using spring water from the Kawakami River and a bamboo flume. Then in 1970, the design of the rotating somen nagashi device was registered, and it was recognized as the ori...»
Mt. Kaimondake is one of the 100 most famous mountains in Japan and is also known as "Satsuma Fuji. It is a double volcano in shape, with a toroid (a cone shaped mountain) on top of a conede (another cone shaped mountain). The entire mountain is covered with forests and beautiful flowers such as Kaimon satsuki. It takes about 3 hours to climb the mountain and about 2 hours and 30 minutes to descen...»