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MeznG. In the air, on the road, river or sea again
We arrive in Kagoshima, a city at the southern tip of Japan's southernmost island of Kyushu at 7am and we will need to be back on board by 2.30 this afternoon so we are up and onshore before 8am. But what to do as we have no set plans. We take the free shuttle into the city which is a 40 minute drive and in that time we decide that we want to go to see the Volcano. Sakurajima is one of Japan's most active volcanoes. The island sits just off the coast of Kagoshima so to get there we need to take the ferry. We have the information we need so we proceed to the ferry terminal which is about 1km away. It is so steamy today. It was raining first thing but that has stopped and it's going to be about 30 today and 80% chance of more rain. Our timing was pretty good as we walked straight onto the ferry and it left very soon after that. No tickets required for the ferry, you pay the ¥160 each when you get off on the other side. We had bought a ticket to do a 1 hour small loop taking in a good viewing point for the volcano but standing in the line and watching them cram people onto this bus like sardines makes us rethink, plus talking to other people waiting in line who are doing the 2 hour full island loop, we are convinced that this will be a much more comfortable way to go. The bus arrives and it's only about 3/4 full so that's excellent, well worth the extra cost because we have a seat and we will not end up squashed and we will see more! First stop is the lookout to see the volcano up close. There are parts of the volcano that are still active and so we are advised to keep an eye on it at all times. The haze clears momentarily so we get to see its rugged beauty. Our guide for this trip only speaks Japanese so she has booklets that she has prepared with the explanation of the main things we will see. The drive is very interesting. The roads are extremely narrow. Due to the rich volcanic soil there is a lot of agriculture on the island and it's famous in Japan for giant turnips and mandarins amongst other vegetables. We have a couple of stops but where there is a photo opportunity the bus driver stops or slows down so we can get photos. The last stop is a lava park. It's quite incredible. The view of the volcano front here is spectacular and it appears quite active today as there are quite a few little explosions while we are there . Due to the heat and the falling ash in the air the shrines at the cemetery are all covered by individual roofs, even some of the livestock are under cover. It is extremely hot today and very humid , it had rained again overnight and was raining this morning when we woke up. Back to the ferry, it's time to get back to the shuttle and the ship. While we are looking at the volcano from the ferry, there is a big puff of grey smoke that billows into the air. That must have been a big burp! Back on the ship we are required to clear Japanese immigration as tomorrow we will be in South Korea. It's a bit of a line to get through and there are many mumbling sand rumblings but it has to be done! Then we hand over our passports so the South Koreans can authorise us to enter their country for all of 8 hours tomorrow. After some late lunch it's time for a bit of R&R for me, Glenn went to the gym because he just can't sit still. We went to the show which was dancing and singing by the ship's company. It was excellent, great energy. Dinner time and it's Italian night so all the wait staff are dressed in striped tops and scarves. They look great. Our 2 boys, Jeffrey and Dom are both from the Philippines and are lovely. We have an early start tomorrow and the captain will have to go full speed ahead as we were 45 minutes late leaving Kagoshima because some passengers had not turned up to customs despite being paged over the PA system numerous times. Sayonara Japan and Anyonghaseyo Korea!
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