Kagoshima half-day itinerary

Hi! I am going to Kagoshima to stay for the night(10pm) before exploring the next morning. I was thinking whether it is too ambitious to cover Sakurajima, Sanganen Gardens and Shiroyama Observatory before I take 3.30pm/4pm train to Hakata.

If so, what would you suggest I remove? Thank you so much!

Any suggestions are highly appreciated!

Maybe if you start you day at 8am you might get it all in. Sakurajima you'll need about 4 hours from Kagoshima ferry port til your return back to it.

Then you got the other 2 locations plus transit times.

Are you able to catch a later shinkansen or is 330/400 set in stone?

Yea it's kinda set in stone because I wanna be at Fukuoka as early as possible for the Summer Festival! So 3.30pm would be the latest, if not earlier.

I think with Shiroyama Observatory out it should be fine. Is Sengan-en Gardens worth going? I'm more about nature. I'm going Kyoto too, and went to Nagasaki's Glover Garden. Are they almost the same?

Is Sengan-en Gardens worth going? I'm more about nature. I'm going Kyoto too, and went to Nagasaki's Glover Garden. Are they almost the same?

Well, as a resident of Kagoshima, I must say Sengan-en is not so intereting as temples in Kyoto. The best thing in Sengan-en is Sakurajima, but it can be better seen from Shiroyama observatory.

@frog1954

Ah so Shiroyama observatory can see better view of Sakurajima than
Sengan-en Gardens?

Also, would there be any supper places open at 11pm still ? Im reaching my hostel by 11pm and would love to try Kagoshima's specialty food (Kurobuta, Tonkotsu)!

Ah so Shiroyama observatory can see better view of Sakurajima than Sengan-en Gardens?

Yes, I think so. Of course Sengan-en has some historic buildings and gardens which are not in Shiroyama, so if you have time, Sengan-en is not so bad. Honestly most of the historic sites are destroyed during Meiji restoration and WWII, Sengan-en is one of the rare historic site in Kagoshima. But if you must choose between Shiroyama and Sengan-en, I would recommend Shiroyama.

Also, would there be any supper places open at 11pm still ? Im reaching my hostel by 11pm and would love to try Kagoshima's specialty food (Kurobuta, Tonkotsu)!

Like many other cities in Japan, restaurants tend to provide good food until 10 o'clock. This is because Japanese don't eat late at night. So if you want to eat good food, you should enter the restaurant no later than 8 o'clock. Some Izakaya-style restaurant provide food until 12, but even in this case you should enter before, well, 10:30 I think. The earlier, the better. Note that Japan has no "summer time" so the night comes earlier especially as compared to high latitude places. At the same time, morning comes earlier.

Where in the city your hostels is?

I searched on the net and found some restaurants are open, even until the next morning. If you can't change the time, they might be worth considering.

I am staying at Green Guest House. Any recommendations on places to eat at? I heard about the Gourmet street, would it be open in the day?

https://goo.gl/mehDbE

Tenmonkan Gourumet Dori is an alley rather than street. Actually there is no Google Street view because the google car cannot go throough it.

I am afraid most of the restaurants there close as early as 11 pm. There are some late-operating restaurants found on the net, but their reputation is relatively low, so I don't want show their names. Green Guest House is about 1 km from the city center (Tenmonkan), so you may ask the staff for the restaurants. They might know some good ones opening late at night.

I suggest you do Sakurajima in the morning, say 8am to get moving. Return 11-1pm and have local food. Then get on the train for Fukuoka. You did say you wanna get to Fukuoka earlier than original plan.

@hakata14:
Do you have any suggestions for local foods? Or would it be pretty easy to see restaurants offering same kinds of food everywhere? Also, is it allowed to book two train rides of different timings? There is a 1.44pm train but I am not sure whether I could make it back in time.

@frog:
Thanks! I will keep that in mind! Should I take the City tour bus to go up to the crater station? haha dont know whether it is worth

is it allowed to book two train rides of different timings? There is a 1.44pm train but I am not sure whether I could make it back in time.

I guess you have some kind of JR pass covering Kagoshima-chuo to Hakata by Shinkansen. Yes, this could be done, but you should not do. At present, JR companies do not prohibit multiple reservation at the same line (as you mentioned) or different lines (for example, Tokyo to Shin-Osaka and Hakata to Kagoshima-chuo) at the same time frame. If you don't ride one of them with no show, you don't be charged for any additional fee. In that case, your reserved seat will not be used and will not be sold by JR. I think this is a big flaw from the viewpoint of local residents. If local residents do the same thing, we must pay for each reservation.

Of course, you can reserve as described above, but you should cancel unnecessary reservation when your itinerary is fixed.

(I am not sure for this part, so correct me if I am wrong, anyone.)

Actually, Kagoshima-chuo to Hakata is not so crowded. You will be able to get a reserved seat just before the departure. There are also non-reserved seats.

I will keep that in mind! Should I take the City tour bus to go up to the crater station? haha dont know whether it is worth

Welcome Cute is handy for your Kagoshima and Sakurajima trip.

http://www.kagoshima-kankou.com/for/whatsnew/2014/06/welcome-cute-kago...

You can use tram and bus (including sightseeing circle bus) in Kagoshima city, ferry to and from Sakurajima and Sakurajima island view bus unlimitedly.