Sakurajima

We took a ferry across the bay from Kagoshima to Sakurajima volcano and took a tour around the lower area of the volcano.



Before our tour began we had a little time to go exploring. Doc checked out some of the lava formations and I relaxed in a foot onsen along the bay.





We then joined our tour to get a closer look at the volcano.


View of Kagoshima from about half way up the mountain

Kagoshima

We continued our journey and traveled to southern Kyushu and the city of Kagoshima. We spent the majority of our time across the bay checking out Sakurajima, a volcano that spews ash on a regular basis. I'll devote a separate post to the volcano. In Kagoshima we had some great meals, including this one with a table grill.



The restaurant was located in a mall with a ferris wheel!



We also had a great view of the bay and of Sakurajima from our hotel.

Dazaifu

On the outskirts of Fukuoka is a small city called Dazaifu, which is home to some beautiful temples and shrines as well as some tasty rice cakes.

We visited Komyozenji Temple, ...



... Tenmangu Shrine, ...







... Konzeonji Temple, ...





and enjoyed some rice cakes!

Nagasaki

Nagasaki is only a little more than two hours away from Fukuoka by train, so we went there for a day trip. We had a full day of siteseeing and our only regret is that we planned it as a day trip. There was so much to see -- and we didn't manage to see everything we would have liked to have seen. It would have definitely been worth a two-day visit.

We started the day with a visit to Sofukuji Temple. There was an enormous caldron dating from the late 1600s on the grounds of the temple. The signs next the caldron explained that it was used to make porridge for 3,000 - 5,000 persons per day after a famine struck the area.







After leaving the temple, we walked through the streets of the city and over to Spectacles Bridge.





Our next stop was Kofukuji Temple.



We also visited the new Dejima Dutch Factory Museum ...



... and headed to the waterfront for a quick lunch. What a great view!



After lunch we took the street car and headed across town to visit the Atomic Bomb Museum and the Peace Park.






Ground Zero


A portion of Urakami Cathedral remained standing after Nagasaki was bombed. It was later moved to the grounds of the Peace Park.



Our last stop of the day was Mt. Inasa. We took a cable car up to the top of the mountain shortly before sunset and enjoyed the spectacular views.

Fukuoka

We then headed south on the train and spent a few days in the Fukuoka area. In the city of Fukuoka we visited the Sumiyoshi Shrine.





We also went up to Fukuoka Tower's observation floor and then enjoyed a little time along the water.









We also visited Jotenji Shrine, ...



... Shofukuji Temple, ...





... and Kushida Shrine.









We also had some great meals at Canal City Mall. This one included Okonomiyaki and fried noodles.





Finally, I was shocked to see these signs throughout the city!