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Kagoshima
Prefecture capital and Core city in Kyushu, Japan

Kagoshima

Kagoshima , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.

Plan a trip to Kagoshima→From Miyazaki

As of 31 July 2024, the city had an estimated population of 583,966 in 285,992 households, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is 547.61 km2 (211.43 sq mi).

Get in

Getting to Kagoshima

  1. 01
    Kagoshima Airport

    Kagoshima's Airport is one hour away from Kagoshima's main train station by bus (¥1500 in 2025).

  2. 02
    Kagoshima-Chūō Station
See

Worth seeing

  1. 01
    Sakurajima

    Kagoshima's temperamental (and active) volcano can be reached by ferry in a matter of minutes 250¥.

  2. 02
    Tsurumaru Castle

    Once the castle of the Shimazu clan who governed the Satsuma domain till the Meiji Restoration, it was destroyed during the Satsuma Rebellion.

  3. 03
    Kagoshima Prefectural Museum of Culture

    Beautiful museum with nice expositions retracing the origin and evolution of the first habitants of the southern Kyushu area till the Meiji restoration.

  4. 04
    Museum of the Meiji Restoration

    A museum about the Meiji restoration and its relationship with the local history.

  5. 05
    Sengan-en Garden

    Former residence of the powerful Shimazu clan.

  6. 06
    Kagoshima City Aquarium

    1500¥ for adults (September 2025) 5 floors of exhibits.

Do

Things to do

Sunamushi or sunaburo is a hot spring and sand bath combined. "Bathers" are covered in hot sand. It can be found at Ibusuki Onsen, about an hour south of Kagoshima.

  1. 01
    Amuran

    A large Ferris wheel atop AMU Plaza attached the Kagoshimachuo station.

Eat

Where to eat

See Kagoshima prefecture for listings of regional dishes.

How locals move

Getting around Kagoshima the local way

  • Get inHowever, Japan Rail Pass holders can make a day trip in 8 hours using a combination of Hikari and Sakura/Tsubame services free of charge.
  • Get inKagoshima is one of Japan's busiest ferry terminals, with a plethora of ferries connecting mainland Japan to its southern islands.
  • Get inOperators include Marix Line and A Line ferry - expect the full journey towards Naha to take around 25 hours, although you can stop halfway through in the Amami Islands.
  • Get inFinally for the Tokara Islands, the municipality [http://www.tokara.jp/access/ferry.html] operates 2 weekly ferries plying the route in around 7 hours (¥6000).
  • Get aroundThe ferry between volcanic island of Sakurajima and Kagoshima harbor operates frequently and around the clock.

From Wikivoyage: Kagoshima, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-05.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: MaedaAkihiko (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons.