Sakurajima

Sakurajima is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and it stands across a four-kilometre stretch of water from central Kagoshima. Explosive eruptions from the Minamidake crater happen on the order of hundreds of times a year, most of them small ash emissions that drift over the city; residents keep ash bags, sweep their cars, and schoolchildren wear helmets on some routes. It was an island until 1914, when a major eruption produced a lava flow that filled the strait on the eastern side and joined it to the Osumi peninsula, where it remains joined. Access to the summit is prohibited and the upper mountain is closed; visitors go to the Yunohira observatory at 373 metres, the closest permitted point, and to lava field trails, a free foot bath, and buried torii - one shrine gate stands with only its top metre above the 1914 ash.

History

The volcano formed about 26,000 years ago, and one of its early eruptions, of VEI 6 more than 10,000 years ago, left a very thick layer of pumice. A few thousand people live on it, once as Sakurajima town, growing the giant Sakurajima daikon and the small komikan orange in the fertile volcanic soil (Wikipedia, Sakurajima).

What you'll find

• Frequent eruptions - hundreds of small explosive events a year, ash over the city.
• The 1914 lava - a flow that joined the island permanently to the peninsula.
• Yunohira observatory - the closest permitted point at 373 metres.
• The buried torii - a shrine gate with only its top metre above the 1914 ash.

When to go

All year. A day. The ferry runs around the clock at short intervals.

Good to know

The summit is closed and cannot be climbed. Ash fall is real - it gets in eyes and on clothing, and the wind direction decides the day. Alert levels change and can close observatories and roads. Bus services on the island are infrequent outside the tourist loop.

Nearby

Kagoshima and Sengan-en are across the bay; Kirishima is north.

Key facts