Kagoshima City Japan Kagoshima

544 Cruises availables At departure or passage at this port

Azamara Club Cruises (35 Cruises)

Azamara Pursuit

1112 Passengers
30277 tons
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Celebrity Cruises (34 Cruises)

Cruise CEL Celebrity Ship Millennium

Celebrity Millennium

2218 Passengers
91011 tons
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Oceania Cruises (45 Cruises)

Cruise OCE Oceania Cruises Riviera ship

Oceania Riviera

1250 Passengers
66084 tons
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Princess Cruises (161 Cruises)

Cuise-PCL Princess Diamond ship

Diamond Princess

2670 Passengers
115875 tons
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Cruise PCL Princess Sapphire Ship

Sapphire Princess

2670 Passengers
115857 tons
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Regent Seven Seas Cruises (35 Cruises)

Royal Caribbean Cruises (17 Cruises)

Seabourn Cruise Line (46 Cruises)

Seabourn Encore.

Seabourn Encore

40350 tons
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Silversea Cruises (33 Cruises)

Viking Ocean Cruises (48 Cruises)

Viking Orion.

Viking Orion

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Viking Venus

Viking Venus

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Port of Kagoshima | Cruise Port Guide

A plume of steam hangs over Kinko Bay long before the ship ties up. Sakurajima, 1,117 metres of grey slopes, has been smoking almost without pause for more than a century, and Kagoshima lives at its feet without batting an eye. Locals check the wind direction the way others check the weather, brush the ash off their windshields, and get on with their day. The ship, for its part, docks at Marine Port, a waterfront terminal roughly halfway between this major city in southern Kyushu and its volcano. Few stops offer such a striking scene right from the gangway: on one side, a lively, flower-filled city; on the other, an active cone that decides, every morning, the mood of the sky.

Getting Downtown from Marine Port

Free shuttles leave the terminal at regular intervals; allow between thirty and forty-five minutes to reach the lively districts, depending on traffic, or take a taxi to get there faster. The covered Tenmonkan arcades concentrate shops and restaurants where you can try two regional specialties: kurobuta black pork, served breaded or stewed, and shirokuma, a mountain of shaved ice topped with condensed milk and fruit that takes the edge off hot southern Japanese afternoons. Fans of local spirits will also spot sweet potato shochu, a regional point of pride that izakayas pour from dozens of distilleries.

Sengan-en, the Garden That Borrows a Volcano

About twenty minutes' drive from the terminal lies Sengan-en, the estate of the Shimadzu lords, who ruled the region for nearly seven centuries. Created in 1658, the garden applies on a grand scale the Japanese principle of the "borrowed landscape": the bay becomes its pond, Sakurajima its ornamental mountain. The paths run past a lordly residence lined with tatami mats, carp ponds, stone lanterns, and viewing pavilions where the smoking cone works its way into every photo. The estate's shops sell local tea and Satsuma ceramics, descendants of the workshops founded by the clan.

Crossing to the Crater

The Sakurajima ferry departs from a pier near downtown, crosses the strait in a quarter of an hour for about 190 yen, and runs at a steady pace all day long. On the other shore, developed trails wind through the lava fields, an observatory faces the crater, and a long public foot bath, fed by a hot spring, offers a chance to relax facing the water. Further on, the Kurokami torii tells of the power of this place: the 1914 eruption buried it up to the lintel, and it has been left just as it was, as a memorial.

RouteApproximate duration
Marine Port to downtown (free shuttle)30 to 45 minutes depending on traffic
Marine Port to Sengan-en (taxi)About 20 minutes
Pier to the volcano (ferry)About 15 minutes

In the Footsteps of the Last Samurai

Kagoshima was once called Satsuma, and this domain produced several of the figures who shaped Japan's modernization. The most famous remains Saigo Takamori, a complex hero of the Meiji era, whose statue in uniform stands watch near the central park. Shiroyama Hill, where he fought his last battle in 1877, is climbed via a walk shaded by camphor trees; the esplanade at the top takes in the rooftops, the bay, and the cone's plume, a view that sums up the stop better than any museum display. Early risers here will cross paths with residents stretching facing the view, proof that the sight never grows old for anyone.

Heading back down to the dock, many passengers find themselves glancing up at the summit one last time. The volcano smokes, the bay stretches out, the ferries cross paths. This region has built its daily life around a force it cannot control, and it's precisely that calm in the face of the unpredictable that stays with travellers, long after the coast of Kyushu has slipped below the horizon.

Frequently Asked Questions

At Marine Port, a waterfront terminal halfway between the city and the Sakurajima volcano. Free shuttles run at regular intervals into town: allow thirty to forty-five minutes depending on traffic, or take a taxi to be quicker.
It is active and has smoked almost continuously for over a century, yet the city lives at its foot without alarm. Residents check the wind direction the way you check the weather and brush ash off their windscreens. The maintained trails keep well clear of the crater.
By ferry, which leaves from a pier near the centre and crosses the channel in about fifteen minutes for roughly 190 yen, running frequently all day. On the far shore, trails wind through the lava fields and an observatory faces the crater.
A sacred gate buried up to its lintel by the 1914 eruption, on the flank of Sakurajima. It was left exactly as it was, as a memorial: it is the clearest image of what the volcano can do, and it needs no commentary.
The estate of the Shimadzu lords, created in 1658 about twenty minutes by road from the terminal. It applies the Japanese principle of borrowed scenery on a grand scale: the bay becomes its pond, Sakurajima its ornamental mountain. A lordly residence, carp pools and lookouts complete the visit.
Choose: either the ferry to the volcano with the observatory and the foot bath, or Sengan-en and the Tenmonkan arcades. Both together only work if the call runs longer than eight hours.
Kurobuta black pork, served breaded or simmered, and shirokuma, a mountain of shaved ice under condensed milk and fruit that takes the edge off hot southern afternoons. Both are found in the covered Tenmonkan arcades.
Kagoshima's regional spirit and local pride, which izakayas offer from dozens of distilleries. It is drunk cut with hot water or over ice, and it is the best liquid souvenir to bring back from the call.
A complex hero of the Meiji era, born in the Satsuma domain, Kagoshima's former name. His statue in uniform stands near the central park. Shiroyama hill, where he fought his last battle in 1877, is climbed by a shaded walk under camphor trees.
From the terrace at the top of Shiroyama, taking in the rooftops, the bay and the plume of the cone. Early risers meet residents doing their stretches facing the view, proof that the sight never grows old.