Kagoshima Prefecture

is located on Kyushu island, Japan. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.

History

Kagoshima Prefecture corresponds to the ancient Japanese provinces Osumi and Satsuma. This region played a key role in the Meiji restoration, and the city of Kagoshima was an important naval base during Japan's 20th Century wars and the home of admiral Togo Heihachiro.

Geography

Map of Kagoshima Prefecture.

Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu. Surrounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, Kumamoto Prefecture to the north, and Miyazaki Prefecture to the east, it has 2,632km of coastline (including the 28 islands). It has a bay called Kagoshima Bay (Kinkowan), which is sandwiched by two peninsulas, Satsuma and Osumi. Its position made it a 'gateway' to Japan at various times in history.

The prefecture boasts active and dormant volcanoes, including the great Sakurajima, which towers out of the Kagoshima bay opposite Kagoshima city. A steady trickle of smoke and ash emerges from the caldera, punctuated by louder mini-eruptions on an almost daily basis. On some days in Kagoshima city an umbrella is advisable to ward off the ash. Sakurajima is one of Japan's most active volcanoes. Major eruptions occurred in 1914, when the island mountain spilled enough material to become permanently connected to the mainland, and a lesser eruption in 1960. Volcanic materials in the soil make Sakurajima a source for world record 'Daikon' radishes, roughly the size of a basketball. Many beaches around the Kagoshima Bay are littered with well-worn pumice stones. A crater lake in the southwestern tip of the prefecture, near the spa town of Ibusuki, is home to a rare species of giant eel.

Cities

17 cities are located on Kagoshima Prefecture.{|valign="top"|
*Akune
*Amami
*Hioki
*Ibusuki
*Ichikikushikino
*Izumi
*Kagoshima (capital)
*Kanoya
*Kirishima