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only in
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Japan that over there is sakurajima and
it's just a short ferry ride from the
city of kagoshima now sakurajima is
still an active volcano active meaning
constantly smoking at could explode at
any moment red hot lava running down its
sides destroying everything in its path
sakurajima is only a few kilometers away
from the city kagoshima is located on
kushu island the 1,300 km from Tokyo can
be covered in a 90-minute flight or
7-hour bullet train
ride home to 680,000 people which makes
you wonder why people would live here at
all but the city's identity is well
connected with the volcano which is what
brings me here
today the power of kagoshima volcanic
underbelly can be felt in iusi sunam mus
onen or volcanic sand bath an experience
documented in a previous only in Japan
episode The Fairy line will give you a
cheap ride to Sakura gima in less than
20
minutes the ferry runs 24 hours a day
but pretty empty during the off season
it could be like this because it's a
weekday afternoon
but maybe also because it's a freaking
volcano the population of sakurajima is
4,500 people and growing quite old most
young people deciding to live on the
mainland there's no high school on the
island so teenagers have to commute by
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ferry you can take a bus around the
island but many things to see and do are
right here near the ferry
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terminal like the hakam magoshi karasu
Jima lava
Trail anything with lava in it has got
to be pretty awesome the trail offers
several kilometers of paths along the
coast it exists because lava from past
eruptions pushed the Island's limits and
the result is new land right right
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here the rocks and sand here are
black the local economy relies on
produce and you can see meon stands part
of the year standing alone and competing
with other meon Farmers this one got my
attention all right you look at that I
was in need of a snack and here you have
Island
meon they a little bit smaller for 100
yen the Sakura gima Island meons are
welln around kushu they're smaller than
normal meons but pack more flavor a pack
of seven or eight is super cheap this
stand includes a photo of the meon
tree it's based on the honor System
apparently that's
Japan the lava Trail offers unique
Landscapes and plant life and the trail
itself is wellb built
lots of long Landscapes and sea
breezes fresh
air finding a boulder to sit on is easy
and picnicking is really the way to
go oh they're
small M sweet
there's a free onen foot bath here where
you can rest your feet like all onen the
water is naturally heated from the
geothermal energy under the
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ground that feels
good a
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after a long hike around the lava
Park foot bath just hits the
Spoto oh and don't forget your
towel nearby is the sakurajima visitor
center this is where you can see the
history and the volcanic activity of the
rock under your feet it's shocking to
think of the amount of molten hot lava
flowing not far away
eruptions at sakurajima happen 100 to
200 times a year most are small burps
compared to major eruptions where people
need to be
evacuated in fact the city of kagoshima
is sometimes covered in Ash 143 days a
year on average people are so used to it
that they sweep it off their cars and
driveways like any normal day on this
day however no Quakes or
eruptions this Center is also a museum
with a lot of geological data and info
which makes the trip to Sakura gima much
more
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meaningful there's a lot to explore here
so I boarded a bus that doesn't run very
often once every 60 to 90
minutes there's little traffic so
bicycling is a good alter alternative it
takes an hour to Loop the island by bus
or a few hours by bicycle there's the
top of sakurajima right now we're in
furusato and it's famous for its onen
there are two hotels here that have bads
with beautiful Seaside
views this is the sakurajima seaside
hotel where both guests and day Trippers
can enjoy the onset the bath really is
up against the sea there is a changing
Hut where you can leave your clothes no
bathing suits allowed in Japanese baths
it's a good idea to bring your own towel
and soap and shampoo set for a shower
after entrance is usually around 500 yen
the water flows naturally from the
ground and is loaded with minerals that
is good for your skin and
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body you can see how it's discolored the
ground surface here but it's the view
that's most impressive I timed my onen
visit with the return bus
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a lot of things are closed during the
off season like cafes and restaurants a
reason it's so
quiet but the island life must go on and
that means farming for this the
sakurajima monster daon radish it grows
big from the nutritious volcanic soil
there are loads of big daon gifts and
snacks representing its importance on
the island the perfect gift obviously
was a daon radish so I popped into the
local
supermarket these are kagoshima daon
radishes not quite as big as the ones
grown on sakurajima but still way bigger
than the normal sized ones like four to
six times
bigger there was still a lot more to see
like the kokami buried gate victim of
the 1914
eruption the ferry itself is an
attraction with the delicious soba andon
shop aboard
no trip can officially end without a
bowl of noodles it's a 15-minute ride
from peer-to-peer so order early
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on volcano hiking Adventure in kagoshima
complete although it's an active volcano
sakurajima is a super chill place and if
traveling alone isn't your thing take
notice of the Shop's poster it doesn't
mean you I'll be alone on the trip
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back more episodes of only in Japan
coming soon on location from Hokkaido to
Okinawa follow the adventures with
up-to-date photos and clips on Instagram
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