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Ai Nishimura
Administrator of the blog "My Diary," which began in 2004. A writer who has traveled to all 47 prefectures and loves local culture and history.
Author of Shimane's "Geography, Place Names, and Maps" Mysteries (Jitsugyo no Nihonsha), My Town is the "Number One in Japan" Dictionary (PHP Institute), and Prefectures Explained in Neko Neko Japanese History (Jitsugyo no Nihonsha). Official blogger for Suntory Gourmet Guide, official top user for Retty, and official platinum blogger for Excite.
A look at Nanshu Cemetery and Sengan-en Garden from the Kagoshima City View.
The Kagoshima City View bus, which departs from Kagoshima Chuo Station, is a bus that travels around the tourist spots. It covers the places I had visited the day before, and if you use it well, you can visit all the tourist spots in Kagoshima City on this bus route alone.
If you plan to get on and off the train four or more times, a one-day pass is convenient. It costs 600 yen and also comes with discount coupons.
First, we went to the Nanshu Cemetery, where Saigo Takamori and other Satsuma samurai who were Saigo's top officials and spent time with him until the end are buried. There were more people there than I expected, and it was a popular spot for history buffs and Saigo fans.
We got back on the bus that comes every 30 minutes and headed to Sengan-en. This place, which was the villa of the Shimazu family, has a wonderful view of Sakurajima and Kinko Bay. However, unfortunately, due to the haze, we couldn't see Sakurajima at all...
We will spend almost the entire day traveling on the Kagoshima City View bus, a convenient bus used by many tourists.
One section costs 190 yen, and a one-day ticket costs 600 yen. You can get a discount from the fourth time onwards. Scratch off the date and show it to the driver when you get off. On the back there are discount coupons for each facility. This is valid for two days.
The first destination is the Nanshu Cemetery, where Saigo Takamori's grave is located. On the way there, you will pass by the Saigo Cave, the last place Saigo was found, and the Shiroyama bus stop.
We arrived at the cemetery in lovely hot weather. There was the grave of Saigo Takamori in the middle of the many gravestones.
Flowers were offered at the grave of Saigo Takamori. Many people came to visit the Satsuma patriot who died in battle at a young age.
Then take the City View to Sengan-en.
First, let's fill our stomachs near the entrance. We stop by a Jambo Mochi shop!
Soft rice cakes with two types of sweet sauce, soy sauce and miso. Janbo mochi also appears in the historical drama "Seigo Don." Look closely at the plate, it is a wooden plate made of Yakusugi cedar shaped like a Sakurajima radish.
The main gate. The Yakui-mon gate has thick beams and pillars. The Shimazu family crest can be clearly seen.
You can also see the prestigious "Paulownia Crest", another crest of the Shimazu clan.
The next gate you can see is the Tin Gate. It is a vermilion-painted gate with a Chinese-style appearance. This gate is so named because it has a roof made of tin instead of tiles. Satsuma was a region that produced a lot of tin and was a specialty product.
The building you see when you pass through the tin gate is the palace. You can visit the inside (additional fee required) and see the courtyard, which cannot be seen from the outside, and the view of the garden from the rooms.
This is the courtyard. There is an octagonal depression in the pond. This is paired with the pond in front, and the concave and convex octagons fit together! Overall, the architecture incorporates Chinese Feng Shui-style auspicious ideas and concepts.
There are about 25 rooms remaining, one of which is decorated in a Western style. I imagine that the Shimazu family probably had many foreign friends. It's fun to imagine that they may have entertained guests here for dinner.
The living room is the only room that can be experienced. You can enter and experience what it feels like to be the head of the family. It also has a great view and is a space that exudes a sense of style and elegance.
One of the highlights of the entire building is the elaborately designed nail covers. The nail cover in this living room is a cute one made of Sakurajima radish painted on it, so don't miss it!
The Bogaku-ro in the garden is a gazebo that was given to the area by the Ryukyu Kingdom. Its design exudes an exotic atmosphere. This is where Shimazu Nariakira and Katsu Kaishu met. What did they discuss about the future here? There are many spots like this in Sengan-en that give you a sense of history.
One of the most notable features of Sengan-en is that the feudal lord himself built a group of modern factories within the garden. This is one of them, the remains of a reverberatory furnace, which is also registered as a World Heritage Site. The 28th lord, Nariakira, sought to modernize Japan to create a country that could overcome other great powers, and built a reverberatory furnace to make cannons.
It was the end of the Edo period, just before the start of the Meiji era. The Satsuma Domain was also deepening its ties with other countries around the world. Hoping for the development of Japan, and to realize Nariakira's desire to build a strong nation to protect his homeland, he continued his will and worked towards modernization even after his death.
The Shoko Shuseikan (machine factory) in the same area is registered as a World Heritage Site, along with the remains of the reverberatory furnace, as part of the "Meiji Industrial Revolution Heritage Sites of Japan."
You'll want to take your time at Sengan-en. There's plenty to see, including gourmet food, Satsuma Kiriko glass, and a retro Starbucks.
Sengan-en is not only the villa of the Shimazu family, but also a popular tourist spot with a wide range of activities to enjoy, including cafes, restaurants, and souvenir shops in the surrounding area.
Restaurants within the park include Gozensho Oukatei, where you can enjoy local Kagoshima gourmet food and drinks while taking in the view of Sakurajima, and Sengan-en Saryo, where you can enjoy tea and light meals such as matcha and Japanese sweets.
This time, I tried "Keihan," a local Kagoshima/Amami gourmet dish, at Oukatei. I poured a generous amount of Oukatei's special dashi, made with broth carefully extracted from the bones of Satsuma-jidori chicken.
After filling our stomachs, we went back to sightseeing. We toured the factory and shop of "Satsuma Kiriko," a glassware that is said to have been created by Shimazu Nariakira and which was once extinct but has since been successfully revived. Next door, there is a Starbucks in a building that is a registered tangible cultural property of the country.
Sengan-en was also used as a filming location for the NHK historical drama "Saigo Don." It is a famous garden that still retains an appearance that stirs the imagination of history buffs.
As lunchtime approached, we had chicken rice at Sengan-en.
The restaurant "Oukatei" inside the garden.
A restaurant with a counter offering excellent views through panoramic glass windows.
The set meal also includes satsumaage and small side dishes.
Place all the chicken ingredients on top of the rice.
The Amami local dish "Tori-meshi" is made by putting chicken meat, dried shiitake mushrooms, shredded egg, condiments, etc. on rice and pouring dashi over it. It is also known as "dashi chazuke."
The dish was only complete when the flavors of all the ingredients came together in the mouth. It was easy to eat.
The interior is bright and calm, allowing you to enjoy your meal at your own pace.
This is a glimpse of Sengan-en Saryo. The tables that look like Sakurajima and Kinko Bay are amazing!
We also visited a Satsuma Kiriko factory, another craft created by the Shimazu family.
Satsuma Kiriko glassware was also encouraged as part of the modernization of the Satsuma domain, but production ceased for a time during the chaos of war.
However, it has now been restored in the same location, and the technology of that time has been revived.
Satsuma Kiriko is characterized by covering transparent glass with colored glass, then carving it to reveal the transparent colors inside as patterns. Colorful and with a beautiful shine, Satsuma Kiriko is an attractive craft that attracts viewers.
The Iso Crafts Museum has an elegant curved roof and sells colorful Satsuma Kiriko glass.
It makes your hands tense when you hold it... This is a heavy Japanese crystal that gives off a noble light.
Starbucks Coffee Kagoshima Senganen store. The Shimazu family crest is the centerpiece, and the Starbucks logo is subdued.
The interior of the store features a modern decor.
The Shimazu family home, a nationally registered tangible cultural property, has been turned into a cafe. It's a shop that feels like a crossroads where the past and present mix together, and is definitely worth a visit.
A stone bridge that has been relocated and preserved exactly as it was when it was first built. See the bridge that was the foundation of people's lives.
There was more to see in Sengan-en than I expected, and I ended up wasting a lot of time. So I hurriedly took a bus to Ishibashi Memorial Park.
You can see three of the "Five Stone Bridges over the Kotsuki River" built during the Edo period.
Nishida Bridge was built in 1846. The total weight of this bridge is said to be 2,000 tons! How on earth is it supported? It is the double structure of the arch part. This is also a characteristic of the builder, Sangoro Iwanaga.
The supporting structure is also hidden in the riverbed. This is the so-called "foundation", and taking advantage of the fact that black pine does not rot when submerged in water, the wood is used as piles to support the bridge. Therefore, water is still flowing in the artificial river to preserve Nishida Bridge.
The magnificent bronze spires also exude a sense of prestige. This bridge was the one that feudal lords always crossed when they left the castle to travel to Edo for alternate attendance, and the gate has also been reconstructed, creating a park that evokes the atmosphere of the time.
Koraibashi Bridge. This is another stone bridge that was relocated. There were some people who were against the relocation, but I think it was not a bad thing to gather them in a park, because it shows the skills of the master craftsmen that would not have been known if they had not been relocated.
Tamae Bridge. The latest bridge over the Kotsuki River, built in 1849, is a four-arch stone bridge.
In the park, there is a statue of Sangoro Iwanaga, the man who built these stone bridges. I think these are very valuable heritage sites, so I hope that as many people as possible will come and see them. It's really nice to see them in person!
In the neighboring Gion-no-su Park, you can also see the remains of a cannon battery that was used during the Anglo-Satsuma War.
The contents published are accurate at the time of publication and are subject to change.
