7th March
KAGOSHIMA, JAPAN
Opened the curtains to a very grey view of us sailing into the port of Kagoshima. It turned very windy with huge waves yesterday evening which we watched from our table at dinner and they continued through the night. This muffing however it was a lot calmer and by the time we disembarked there was a very watery sun trying to come through. The temperature was forecast to be about 15 degrees and thankfully no rain so after going through immigration which was very quick and easy, we took the shuttle bus into town. Traffic was quite heavy and we travelled through the working part of town with mainly garages and factories. We were dropped off at the Dolphin Port which looked like a smaller ships terminal where you could catch buses, trams or trains if you wanted. We headed towards the town centre where we found the shopping streets. The shopping here is done all under cover along pedestrianised walkways which crisscross and go on for miles! You could easily loose your bearing here and not know what entrance you came in on !
We stopped for coffee and as hardly anyone speaks English I put a translation on my phone for 2 lattes please and showed it to the shop assistant. It was so easy and we got what we wanted.
After a few hours we walked back to the Dolphin Port then back to the ship. Kagoshima, like other Japanese places we’ve been to seem very grey in colour to me. There just doesn’t seem like they like colour much with all the buildings grey and hardly any greenery anywhere. The people however are extremely polite and welcoming and can’t do enough for you. The sun came through a bit in the afternoon and you could easily see the volcano on the island just off the shore opposite the ship. On our departure a traditional ceremony of drums and dancing was put on for us on the quay side as we set off for our next stop the following morning in Nagasaki.