Kagoshima southernmost major city is often compared with its Italian sister city Naples due to a similarly mild climate, palm tree-lined streets, relatively hot tempered inhabitants and rumbling Mount Sakurajima, Kagoshima's Vesuvius.
The city has a rich history as the former seat of one of Japan's most powerful feudal clans, the Shimazu, who played a central role in the Meiji Restoration. The city can also serve as a base for a variety of trips, such as to the Kirishima Mountains and the Satsuma Peninsula.
Chiran
Chiran is a small town located in the middle of the Satsuma Peninsula of Kagoshima Prefecture on the island of Kyushu.
During World War II there was a small airfield just outside the town, and towards the end of the war is was home to a "Special Attack Squadron", now known by the name kamikaze.
A huge museum complex on the site of the old base, Chiran Peace Museum For Kamikaze Pilots, is the major tourist attraction bringing visitors to the town, but there is also a well preserved samurai residence district with seven delightful zen gardens that is also a big draw.
Senganen Garden
Senganen Garden is a Japanese-style landscape garden the most striking features is its use of Sakurajima and Kagoshima Bay as borrowed scenery. The garden also includes small ponds, streams, shrines and a bamboo grove.
Senganen was constructed in 1658 by the local Shimazu Clan, one of the most powerful feudal clans during the Edo Period (1603-1867). The Shimazu ruled the Satsuma domain (present day Kagoshima) for almost 700 years until the end of the feudal age in 1868. They continued to be influential into the modern era as some of the earliest adopters of Western science and technology.
At the center of the garden stands the Iso Residence. The residence was originally built in 1658 along with the rest of the garden, but the current building dates back mostly to a mid 1880s reconstruction. After the end of the feudal age, the Iso Residence became the main residence of the Shimazu family, and its rooms are preserved in the way they were used in the 1890s.
