Day 49: 19 May 2009

LOCATION: KAGOSHIMA
MOOD: EXPLORATIVE
LISTENING TO: GYM CLASS HEROES – COOKIE JAR

THE END OF THE SMELLY TOWEL SAGA:

I woke up a little later than usual on account of the previous night's outing and my first port of call was a nice warm shower. By the time I had arrived back at the hostel the previous evening it was far too late to take a shower and I was looking forward to a good scrub to wake me up. Of course there was still the little issue of my pungent towel, so I went and asked the proprietors for a little help.

My initial plan was to dump the towel and then buy a cheap one from the 100 yen shop nearby, but the proprietors were kind enough to not only explain where I'd gone wrong but also offer me some free towels that other visitors had left behind. They explained that you're not supposed to use your own towel when you go to a mud onsen precisely because of the clingy nature of the smell; you use the establishment's loincloth and towel so that they can clean them in the appropriate way. Apparently you need to wash the towels constantly for about a week in order to fully purge the smell, and if you're unwise enough to put anything else in the laundry the smell will infect those items too. But I already knew that last bit.

After I had a shower and got some breakfast I was faced with the dilemma of what to do with my only full day in Kagoshima. My initial plan had been to see the Sakurajima volcano the day before, and then use this full day to travel down to the beach town of Ibusuki, which apparently has really nice clean sand. After a little thinking I decided to go for the volcano seeing as Ibusuki would require a fair bit of travel, and after I got there I would simply be sitting on the beach for the day.

IN THE SHADOW OF SAKURAJIMA:

The best way to reach Sakurajima from Kagoshima is by ferry, so I took the train down (catching the right one this time) and boarded at the pier. Curiously they had a peculiar ticketing system whereby there was only a booth on the Sakurajima end, which probably explained why the staff on the ship gave me a blank look when I asked them where I should buy a ticket. Of course when you think about it this system does make sense from an efficiency perspective.

Not exactly Dante's Peak, but it is still very impressive.

The docks on Sakurajima Island.

The Japanese have a tendency to jump at any opportunity for a commemorative memorial or plaque. I'm guessing this one had something to do with maritime spirit, but who really knows.

Sakurajima island itself is quite large (it does contain a volcano after all) and is best explored by car. The island is part tourist attraction and part national park, and although I had neither car nor bike there were still plenty of things you could do on foot. I bypassed the more bubblegum tourist attractions like the dinosaur and volcano museums and instead spent my time soaking in the free foot onsens and walking the so-called magma trail.

The foot onsens were nice because they were situated along the shore facing Kagoshima so you could see the Kagoshima skyline and the steady flow of ships coming into dock at Kagoshima port. It also helped that there was a vending machine nearby, meaning that I could enjoy a cold drink while keeping my feet nice and toasty. I think I listened to the majority of an India.Arie album while my feet were dangling in the water.

It was a pretty quiet day and I don't think I saw any staff from the resort during my entire time there. I was a little worried that they might come out at some point and ask why I had been sitting there for almost an hour.

If you get bored of looking at the mountain you can always turn to your left and see the skyline of Kagoshima across the bay.

I was a little worried when I saw this, but it turned out to be the only thing I heard out of the volcano the whole day.

One day, when I actually have some money and the Australian dollar has finished its banana republic days, I'd like to come back and stay at this resort. With a view like this, I might even learn to fish.

After I finished up there I continued on to the magma trail, which started just outside the foot onsen area. Essentially the magma trail was a several kilometer long track that ran along the coastline. It derives its name from the fact that the current coastline was created by Sakurajima's last major erruption last century which resulted in a large scale lava flow that subsequently hardened into new firm land. It's quite an experience walking along this track and seeing the vegetation sprout up among the dark black rocks. Add to this striking imagery the sea breeze and the Kagoshima skyline across the bay and it makes for a quite pleasant day trip.

This map marks the start of the magma trail and plots a few different courses that you can take. I chose to take the longest one because, well, I'm an idiot.

Given that these jagged black rocks form the coastline, I'm not entirely sure where the topsoil that nourishes the grass is coming from.

I climbed one of the rocks to take this shot of the walking path and coastline.

Of course an elevated position also opens the door for my proclivity towards self-portraiture...

The path itself is punctuated by rest stops and observation points that showcase both the bay scenery and of course the volcano itself. There are also regular signboards reminding you of the location of the evacuation points, but the most I heard from Sakurajima itself was a few puffs of smoke while I was still at the foot onsen. Interestingly enough, a number of these observation points feature works by famous Japanese poets. I didn't stop to read them all, but the ones that I did seemed poignant enough.

I can understand why they commissioned these plaques; the whole place does kind of make you want to wax lyrical.

After a while the track winds away from the coastline and heads inland towards the volcano.

Thankfully there was a bridge, which saved me from having to get all commando.

One of the many rest spots along the way.

If you're lucky (and attentive) you may catch sight of a hawk circling overhead.

Other types of wildlife aren't quite so bold and do whatever they can to get out from under the scorching sun.

As you walk along you'll see couples walking hand in hand, packs of elderly folks out for a stroll, joggers, cyclists and people fishing. Even though I was clocking up the kilometers I felt strangely rested and peaceful. At the end of the trail is an observation point that offers a good view of the volcano and the forest the spans the rest of the island. If you look up at the sky you're more than likely to catch sight of eagles wheeling around on the warm air currents. I really felt a sense of accomplishment at making it to the summit on foot, so I had a little fun with my camera.

The final observation post. I'm surprised they didn't have a stall here selling commemorative medals. Or maybe that's just the Great Wall.

King of the world, baby!

Of course there's still the road home. Apparently the Emperor has no clothes.

The observation point was the official terminus of the magma trail, but if you keep following the car road you'll reach the strange 'Screaming Statue'. This odd piece of work apparently commemorates an all-night concert held on Sakurajima in 2004 that had an audience of around 75,000 people. The inscription dedicates the sculpture and the concert to 'lovers of music', so naturally I had to make the pilgrimage. The statue was undergoing maintenance when I arrived, but I was able to get a clear shot of it with the cooperation of the workers.

Passion does indeed live here.

Of course passion can sometimes manifest itself in disturbing ways.

As with all journeys this high was following by the long trip back, and by the time I arrived at the ferry terminal I was pretty much too tired to do anything else substantive for the day. I went back to the hostel, had dinner, browsed the web a bit and had a chat with a few people including a Korean American chef who was travelling Japan adding to his repetoire. He had apparently spotted me in Beppu a few days ago, and I had spotted him on the train into Kagoshima the previous day. Apparently it really is a small world.

Back at Kagoshima port.