Page 278 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Japan

i potatoes rather than rice, and
in its typically Okinawan
Kirishima-Kinkowan preference for pork dishes.
National Park Did You Know? Shochu, Kagoshima’s liquor
霧島錦江湾国立公園 When it rains, an made from sweet potatoes,
! A7 ⌂ Miyazaki and amazing azure lake is believed to have passed
Kagoshima Prefectures forms in Mount through Okinawa from China
£ Kobayashi Stn (JR Kitto Karakunidake’s or Korea. There are over 120
shochu distilleries in Kagoshima
crater.
EXPERIENCE Kyushu This region, identified with o particularly ceramics and
line), then Miyazaki Kotsu
alone. Local craft traditions,
bus to Ebino Highland
fine silk brocades, reflect an
aesthetic of Asian provenance.
Japanese foundation myths,
centers on the volcanic
Kagoshima’s sultry climate
Kagoshima
is apparent at Sengan-en,
plateau of Ebino-Kogen
(Shrimp Meadow), which is
grow along side plum trees
surrounded by volcanoes,
! A7 ⌂ Kagoshima
crater lakes, and hot springs. 鹿児島 where semitropical plants
and bamboo groves. The
Prefecture k £ g From
The Ebino-Kogen Nature Trail Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, garden’s centerpiece is a
is the best of several hiking and Nagasaki n At Stn; pond and small waterfall.
routes, going past three
ponds, two of which are cobalt (099) 253-2500
blue. The climb up to the peak Kagoshima looks out across HIDDEN GEM
of Mount Karakunidake is the broad sweep of a bay to Sand Baths
popular in summer. There are the brooding silhouette of A sand bath at Ibusuki,
many steaming hot springs in Sakurajima, an active volcano 17 miles (28 km) SE
the area; some of the best are that sometimes showers the of Chiran, consists of
the Iodani, Arayu, Hayashida, city in a blanket of volcanic ash. being buried in sand
and Sakura onsens. Historically, Kagoshima that is naturally heated
This is an active volcanic enjoyed an unusual degree of by rising steam. After
area, and some parts of the independence. Center of the staying buried for ten
park may be off-limits for feudal domain of Satsuma, to 20 minutes, guests
safety reasons at any one time. Kagoshima’s Shimazu clan wash off the sand and
This can also result in closures ruled Okinawa for eight enter hot-spring baths.
of roads and hiking trails. centuries, absorbing much
of the culture of China and
Southeast Asia transmitted
through the islands. The legacy
of that contact is evident today
in a cuisine that relies on sweet

The waterfront city of
Kagoshima, with Sakurajima
volcano in the background
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