Kagoshima

Kagoshima 鹿児島
—  Core city  —
鹿児島市 · Kagoshima City
Kagoshima today with volcano Sakurajima in background.
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Location of Kagoshima in Kagoshima
Kagoshima
Coordinates: 31°36′N 130°33′E / 31.6°N 130.55°E / 31.6; 130.55
Country	Japan
Region	Kyūshū
Prefecture	Kagoshima
Government
- Mayor	Hiroyuki Mori
Area
- Total	546.96 km2 (211.2 sq mi)
Population (2005)	605,650
- Density	427.8/km2 (1,108/sq mi)
City Symbols
- Tree	Camphor
- Flower	Kyōchikutō
Website	City of Kagoshima
Phone number	099-224-1111
Address 11-1 Yamashita-machi, Kagoshima-shi, Kagoshima-ken 892-8677

Kagoshima (鹿児島市, Kagoshima-shi^?) is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture at the southwestern tip of the Kyūshū island of Japan, and the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern world" for its bay location (Aira Caldera), hot climate and impressive stratovolcano, Sakurajima.

As of 1 January 2005, the city had an estimated population of 605,650 and a density of 1,107.81 persons per km². The total area is 546.71 km². In 2003, the city had an estimated population of only 554,136 and density of 1,911.41 persons per km². The total area was 289.91 km². The city's total area nearly doubled between 2003 and 2005 as a result of five towns—Kōriyama, Matsumoto, Kiire, Sakurajima, and Yoshida—merging into Kagoshima on 1 November 2004.

Kagoshima is approximately 40 minutes from Kagoshima Airport, and the city features large shopping districts and malls, is served by trams, and has many restaurants featuring Satsuma Province regional cuisine: kibi (a kind of tiny fish), tonkatsu (caramelized pork, as opposed to the breaded version encountered elsewhere in Japan), smoked eel, and karukan (sweet cakes made from steamed sweet potatoes and rice flour). A large, modern aquarium has been installed on the old docks overlooking the volcano. The Senganen (Isoteien) Japanese garden is just outside the city.

The St. Xavier church is a reminder of the first Christians who came to Japan.

One of the best places to see the city (and the active volcano across the bay) is from the Amuran Ferris wheel on top of "Amu Plaza," the shopping centre attached to Kagoshima Central Train Station. The wheel has two completely transparent gondolas which give a 360-degree view from 91 m above the ground.

History

Kagoshima was the center of the territory of the Shimazu clan of samurai for many centuries. It was a busy political and commercial port city throughout the medieval period and into the Edo period (1603–1867) when it formally became the capital of the Shimazu's fief, the Satsuma Domain. Satsuma remained one of the most powerful and wealthiest domains in the country throughout the period, and though international trade was banned for much of this period, the city remained quite active and prosperous. It served not only as the political center for Satsuma, but also for the semi-independent vassal kingdom of Ryūkyū; Ryukyuan traders and emissaries frequented the city, and a special Ryukyuan embassy building was established to help administer relations between the two polities and to house visitors and emissaries. Kagoshima was also a significant center of Christian activity in Japan prior to the imposition of bans against that religion in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

Map of the Bombardment of Kagoshima on 15 to 18 August 1863

Kagoshima was bombarded by the British Royal Navy in 1863 to punish the daimyō of Satsuma for the murder of Charles Lennox Richardson on the Tōkaidō highway the previous year and its refusal to pay an indemnity in compensation. (See 'Bombardment of Kagoshima').

Kagoshima was the birthplace and scene of the last stand of Saigō Takamori, a legendary figure in Meiji Japan in 1877 at the end of the Satsuma Rebellion.

Japan's industrial revolution is said to have started here, stimulated by the young students' train station. Seventeen young men of Satsuma broke the Tokugawa ban on foreign travel, traveling first to England and then the United States before returning to share the benefits of the best of Western science and technology.^{[citation needed]} A statue was erected outside of the train station as a tribute to them. The city was officially founded on 1 April 1889.

Kagoshima was also the birthplace of Tōgō Heihachirō. After naval studies in England between 1871 and 1878, Togo's role as Chief Admiral of the Grand Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Russo-Japanese War made him a legend in Japanese military history, and earned him the nickname 'Nelson of the Orient' in Britain. He led the Grand Fleet to two startling victories in 1904 and 1905, completely destroying Russia as a naval power in the East, and thereby contributing to the failed revolution in Russia in 1905.

The City was covered deep in ashes after the 1914 eruption of the Sakurajima volcano which is seen in the distance across the bay.

The 1914 eruption of the volcano across the bay from the city did spread ash throughout the municipality; but relatively little disruption ensued.^[1]

Shinkansen (bullet train) service opened on 13 March 2004 between Kagoshima-chūō and Shin-Yatsushiro.

Sadomitsu Sakoguchi, the renowned Japanese diplomat, revolutionized Kagoshima's environmental economic plan with his dissertation on water pollution and orange harvesting.

Today, Kagoshima is home to a distinctive dialect of Japanese, differing from the usual Kyūshū dialects with its pronunciations of the yotsugana.

Climate

Kagoshima has a humid subtropical climate, marked by cool, relatively dry winters, warm, wet springs, hot, wet summers and mild, wet falls.

Weather data for Kagoshima, Japan (1971-2000)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	12.6 (55)	13.5 (56)	16.5 (62)	21.3 (70)	24.5 (76)	27.2 (81)	31.5 (89)	32.0 (90)	29.7 (85)	25.1 (77)	19.9 (68)	15.0 (59)	22.4 (72)
Daily mean °C (°F)	8.3 (47)	9.3 (49)	12.1 (54)	16.8 (62)	20.2 (68)	23.6 (74)	27.9 (82)	28.2 (83)	25.8 (78)	20.8 (69)	15.6 (60)	10.4 (51)	18.3 (65)
Average low °C (°F)	4.1 (39)	5.4 (42)	8.0 (46)	12.6 (55)	16.7 (62)	20.6 (69)	24.9 (77)	25.1 (77)	22.4 (72)	16.9 (62)	11.5 (53)	6.1 (43)	14.5 (58)
Precipitation mm (inches)	79.4 (3.13)	104.9 (4.13)	180.7 (7.11)	227.7 (8.96)	232.2 (9.14)	442.9 (17.44)	313.5 (12.34)	224.4 (8.83)	227.4 (8.95)	104.6 (4.12)	73.8 (2.91)	67.5 (2.66)	2,279.0 (89.72)
Snowfall cm (inches)	2 (0.8)	2 (0.8)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	5 (2)
Sunshine hours	136.9	129.1	145.7	160.5	171.0	122.4	191.1	206.7	168.8	183.4	152.0	151.3	1,918.9
% Humidity	65	66	69	71	71	78	76	76	73	70	69	69	71
Avg. snowy days	2.2	2.6	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.7	5.9
Source: [2] 2009-06-08

Points of interest

Tenmonkan G3

• Kagoshima Aquarium
• Kagoshima Botanical Garden
• Tenmonkan shopping arcade [1]

Neighboring municipalities

• Cities: Hioki, Ibusuki, Minamisatsuma, Satsumasendai, Tarumizu
• Districts: Aira District, Ibusuki District, Kawanabe District

Economy

Japan Air Commuter, a subsidiary of Japan Airlines, is headquartered in Kagoshima.^[3]

Transport

Railways

All lines are operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyūshū)

• Kyushu Shinkansen
• Kagoshima Main Line
• Nippo Main Line
• Ibusuki Makurazaki Line

Tramway

• kagoshima city tram taniyama line
• kagoshima city tram kohrimoto line

Highways

• National Highway 3
• National Highway 10
• National Highway 58
• National Highway 224
• National Highway 225
• National Highway 226
• National Highway 328
• Kyushu Expressway
• Minami-Kyushu Expressway
• Ibusuki Skyline

Bus

• Kagoshima City Bus
• Kagoshima Kotsu
• Hayasida bus
• Nangoku Kotsu
• JR Kyushu bus
• MTA Bus

Ferry/Jetfoil

• Sakurajima Ferry
• A Line (to southern islands)
• Marix Line (to southern islands)
• RKK Line (to Okinawa)
• Toppy (to Tanegashima and Yakushima)
• Seahawk (to Koshikijima Islands)

Airport

Kagoshima Airport in Kirishima (35 km NE of Kagoshima)

Sister cities

Kagoshima is sister cities with

• Naples, Italy;
• Perth, Australia;
• Miami, United States;

and friendship cities with

• Changsha, People's Republic of China

References

1. ^ "Kagoshima", Illustrated London News. 24 January 1914.
2. ^ "気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値）". Japan Meteorological Agency. http://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/nml_sfc_ym.php?prec_no=88&prec_ch=%8E%AD%8E%99%93%87%8C%A7&block_no=47827&block_ch=%8E%AD%8E%99%93%87&year=&month=&day=&elm=normal&view=. 
3. ^ "会社概要." Japan Air Commuter. Retrieved on May 19, 2009.

• Amu Plaza Visitors Guide (2006) available in Amu Plaza, Chūō Station, Kagoshima, Japan

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kagoshima

• Kagoshima Prefectural Visitors Bureau official website in English
• Kagoshima travel guide from Wikitravel
• Kagoshima official website in Japanese
• Kagoshima Visitor's Guide from the Kagoshima Internationalization Council
• Amu Plaza, Kagoshima City Official Website in Japanese

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