region image
11°

Kagoshima

Sunny climate set to a Sakurajima backdrop

About Kagoshima
Photo: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com

Top Attractions in Kagoshima

Kagoshima Top 10

Upcoming Kagoshima Events

Air Memorial in Kanoya

Air Memorial in Kanoya

Late Apr

Celebrating the JMSDF's 60th anniversary, the 2014 Air Memorial in Kanoya features the exhibition flying of Blue Impulse, JASDF's..

1 Free Entry
Kajiki Spider Fighting Festival

Kajiki Spider Fighting Festival

Mid Jun

The townsfolk of Kajiki, a town in Aira City, Kagoshima, happily partake in a tradition which reaches back over four-hundred years:..

7 Free Entry

Where to eat in Kagoshima

Places to stay in Kagoshima

Ryokan Ginsyo

Ryokan Ginsyo

Mandy Bartok

Soak in the views of Kagoshima Bay while simultaneously soaking in a rooftop onsen at Ryokan Ginsyo in Ibusuki

5
Hotel Kirishima Castle

Hotel Kirishima Castle

Featured

Hotel Kirishima Castle is situated within Kirishima Onsen, lying on the lower slopes of the Kirishima Mountains with views ove..

Latest Kagoshima Reports

Remote Kirishima 2023

Remote Kirishima 2023

Rey Waters

Kirishima boasts the first National Park in Japan and has lots of great hiking trails with scenic views throughout the park. There..

Close

About Kagoshima

Okinawa Nagasaki Fukuoka Saga Kumamoto Kagoshima Miyazaki Oita Ehime Kochi Tokushima Kagawa Yamaguchi Hiroshima Okayama Tottori Shimane Hyogo Kyoto Osaka Wakayama Nara Shiga Mie Fukui Ishikawa Toyama Gifu Aichi Nagano Shizuoka Niigata Yamanashi Kanagawa Tokyo Saitama Gunma Tochigi Chiba Ibaraki Fukushima Miyagi Yamagata Iwate Akita Aomori Hokkaido
Region Kyushu
Island Kyushu
Capital Kagoshima
Population 1,706,242
Area 9,188.10 km²

If you love history, Kagoshima Prefecture (鹿児島県, Kagoshima-ken) is the place to go. Christianity was first introduced to Japan in Kagoshima by Francis Xavier, and Western technology entered Japan at Tanegashima in the form of muskets. But perhaps most notably, the powerful Satsuma Domain, which ushered in the Meiji Restoration, was located in Kagoshima; not surprisingly, the leader of the Satsuma Rebellion, the revered Saigo Takamori, was born there as well. Kagoshima also houses the somber Chiran Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots.

History aside, the southernmost prefecture of Japan (excluding Okinawa) is famous for Yakushima Island, a World Heritage Site; the island is noted for its majestic Yakusugi trees and is an excellent hiking location. The great volcano of Sakurajima, one of the most active in the world, towers over the city.

Some of Japan’s best sake is brewed in Kagoshima from their Satsuma sweet potatoes. 

Around Kagoshima

Close