southern tip of satsuma

Southern tip of kaimon-dake, ibusuki

Towards the end of a really cool climb down a cliff to reach a fishing/view spot (pictured). The climb is made easier by some thick ropes set up to help you down, but it's still somewhat thrilling.

大願

Hirakiki shrine, ibusuki, kagoshima

An ema the 5 of us wrote together, hanging in the shrine.

satsuma no ichinomiya

hirakiki shrine, ibusuki

Hirakiki and Nitta shrines both claim to be the top ranked shrine in the Satsuma province, and while I can't really comment on Nitta, Hirakiki was very cool. The scenery with Kaimon-dake in the back was really nice.

soumen

ibusuki, kagoshima

Near the tousenkyou soumen nagashi spot. The food was unfortunately fairly mid in my opinion (so many bones in everything!), but the location and vibe is just spectacular. The fact that the restaurant is actually run by the city is also pretty peculiar. Here, a worker is preparing what seems to be bamboo tubes for the soumen to flow down (?).

kaimondake

ibusuki, kagoshima

Mt kaimon, on the very edge of the satsuma peninsula. I visited ibusuki with some friends I met while staying in hostels, one of whom had a rental car we all used to see ibusuki with high efficiency. Ibusuki ended up being one of my favorite days of the entire kyushu trip, it was so much fun car touring the countryside with an international group of friends

Ibusuki no tamatebako

ibusuki, kagoshima

aforementioned limited express train. The white/gold side faces the ocean, and the black side faces inland on the trip to ibusuki.

umizoi christmas train

kagoshima

scene from inside the "ibusuki no tamatebako" limited express train from kagoshimachuou to ibusuki station. Another spectacular route along the ocean with great views of the kagoshima bay. The train was christmas themed when I went.

hazy sakurajima

sengan-en, kagoshima

hazy outline of sakurajima in the bay as seen from sengan-en. The many views of sakurajima were some of my favorite moments of my time in kagoshima. the fact that a very active volcano is just sitting there in the middle of a huge population center and everyone's just gotten used to it is so crazy to me.

senganen

sengan-en, kagoshima

new roll of film after i realized i underexposed the previous gold 200 roll by one stop :sob:. It turned out ok, there were some really moody shots in the last roll.

road in kagoshima

kagoshima

grimy tenmonkan

tenmonkan, kagoshima

rainy day in tenmonkan. These buildings are behind the bus stop where the bus to sengan-en stops.

tenmonkan park

tenmonkan, kagoshima

early morning. I love tenmonkan! it's completely crazy yet feels so cozy at the same time. A completely different nightlife feel compared to say, Nakasu in fukuoka.

takamori station at sunset

takamori station with mt aso peaks in the background. the only reason I was still in takamori by sunset is because I forgot my camera in the station... the minamiaso railway trains only run once every 2hrs so that ended up costing me 4+ hours

kamishikimi

kamishikimikumanoza shrine

main entrance to the shrine

fall, piled up

kamishikimikumanoza shrine

Cool shrine featured in hotarubi no mori e. unsurprisingly very heavily visited. my friend and and I climbed all the way up the hill behind the shrine and through a gnarly hiking/climbing trail (right past the do-not-enter sign)

foggy caldera

mt aso

photo taken from the window of the minamiaso railway. easily one of the most scenic train routes I've ever taken. It starts in tateno station and takes you into the Mt. Aso caldera to Takamori station. the pictured mountains are the southern rim of the caldera.

kumamoto station

kumamoto

early morning while the 2024 december christmas market was setup

kumamoto shiden

kumamoto

the absolutely awful kumamoto streetcar. miserable timings and miserable riding experience... gets so intensely crowded I'd rather walk 30m.

fukuoka from the sea

fukuoka

fukuoka tower from the ferry from uminonakamichi to hakata. taken on my december 2024 kyushu trip with my georgia tech friend sidong.

married rocks

futamigaura, fukuoka

the married rocks and white torii near futamigaura. i have a bw photo of this as well, but I developed the color roll first.