Kagoshima

October 21 & 22 – Sunday & Monday

On Sunday, 20 of us left Tokyo and flew to the Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan has 47 prefectures which are very similar to what we call states. The capitol of this prefecture is Kagoshima and it is located at the tip of the island of Kyushu. It has a population around 600,000 and has a subtropical climate (bamboo grows in the forests around here!). I hate to tell you this, but the weather is warm, sunny and gorgeous!

This is Naoka-san - our group coordinator while we are in Kagoshima.
Kagoshima has an interesting history as it was the home of a clan of samurai (the Shimazu) for many centuries. The movie The Last Samurai was based on the true story of the samurai in this region who were resisting western influence. Today we visited the villa of one of the last samurai who lived here. It was beautiful.
Sakurajima is one of the most active volcanoes in Japan and is just across the bay from us. There have been major eruptions in the past and about once a week it will spout steam and enough ash to cover the city. Every year on January 12 the city practices an evacuation plan.

Today we visited Kagoshima University and had interesting talks with university students who are majoring in education. We also met with the Deputy Mayor of Kagoshima and the Superintendent of Kagoshima Board of Education. While at the University we saw some school children on a field trip. They were very excited to see us. All the kids give us peace signs! Here are some kids having fun on a Sunday afternoon.
In front of restaurants you often see plastic examples of their food dishes. At first I thought it was kind of strange, but when I began to look closely at them I discovered that these are a form of art and are really pretty amazing. They also help you to decide what you want to order.

Well, I hope your weather is not too cold...I'll be thinking of you!