Port 07 Kagoshima, Japan
Aisatsu! Greetings! Ohayo gozaimasu! Good morning!
The sun is already a little high, but mostly cloud covered as we approach Kagoshima on 21 March, 2024.
Mt Sakurajima greets us with a little bit of steam!
We arrive at a real cruise terminal! Mt Sakurajima is visible and welcoming!
I am very surprised to see palm trees and a Norfolk pine tree in southern Japan! I guess I shouldn’t be surprised – this is about the same latitude as Brunswick, Georgia – but I am surprised nonetheless!
We have a tour to visit Senganen Garden today! This is the garden created by the Shimadzu family when this was to become their second family home.
As we head to the garden we find a park that recognizing Saigo Takamori who saw the need for modernizing Japan and orchestrating the Meiji Revolution that ended the feudal samurai period.
The bus takes us past this beautiful structure – the main gate of Tsurumaru Castle!
We arrive at Senganen Garden. Walking from the parking lot to the Garden entrance we pass this tori gate!
In the Senganen Garden we visit the museum and learn of the reverberatory iron factory that was finally successfully created here! A model of the final successful furnace in on display, and explains the evolution of the design! “Reverberant” means the iron is melted using an indirect heat method to minimize the possible soot contamination of iron that is smelted here.
Just outside is the actual platform that formed the base of the reverberant smelting chamber.
As we head to the gardens we pass this wall. We are told this was the original sea wall of this area. The sea wall extends up that line you see above the greenery and just below the crowns of the sago palms! However, in the earthquake of 1923 the tectonic plates pushed this area up 17 feet and extended the beach hundreds of feet! This was no longer at the edge of the sea!
This is the main entrance to the Shimadzu compound!
And, turning the corner, we see the final gate that leads to the Shimadzu home.
A beautiful stone lantern stands outside a wall.
The family home is nestled against the hill. It is available for touring at additional cost, but our time is limited so we pass on that opportunity.
The gardens next to the house are stunning! there are beautiful views of the water, rocks, and flora from just about any viewpoint!
There are paths that are paved with smooth concrete as well as large, irregular pavers leading us through the gorgeous gardens! Nothing about this garden is wheelchair, or even walker, accessible!
The house itself forms a beautiful backdrop to a view of the water!
Through the cherry blossoms that have hung around for us, we have a wonderful view of Mt Sakurajima! To explain, we expected to be in Japan in time for cherry blossoms in full bloom! We learn that in Kagoshima the full bloom was a week ago and the blooms have been dropping. We’re fortunate to see as many blossoms as we do!
Clear of the trees we get our closest view of Mt Sakurajima!
The gardens are large, and there are several shrines along the paths. This was the most interesting – the Cat Shrine!
There is a large prayer wall with hundreds of prayers for cats!
A water-powered rice husker is in the garden. It uses water to raise the hammer, and when the water spills out of the reservoir the hammer falls, knocking the husks off the grains of rice. The time between hammers is lengthy, so I’m not certain this is a useful approach for a practical application. Perhaps it would be useful with a larger water flow.
While watching this, I recall a teacher when I was in high school in Japan explained to us that this is considered the “sound of nothing”! water fills the reservoir, the arm tips, water pours out, the arm returns to horizontal with a resounding “clonk!” No one is making the noise, so this is the sound of nothing.
Soon we are back on the ship, and we were informed there would be a surprising send-off for us! Well, what is surprising is how unorganized the send-off is! A handful of energetic people are waving goodbye, while a man and woman stand in the doorway of the terminal, playing a shamisen and drum and singing Japanese folk songs! I believe they were stuck there because of the electrical outlet they needed for the amplifier and speakers they used.
As we pull out of Kagoshima’s harbor we say “sayonara!”
We may be leaving Kagoshima, but we’re just getting started with Japan!
Next port of call – Tokyo, Japan, with an overnight stay!
