Welcome to the Ring of Fire. First thing this morning, Sakurajima, the active volcano on the next island greeted us with a mini eruption.
Second thing, Japanese officials took and recorded our body temperatures, fingerprints and mugshots...but at least local bureaucracy was accompanied by lots of bows and smiles, and all guests were efficiently and politely 'processed' with minimum delay.
It rained. Local authorities had provided a shuttlebus to town, as well as a taste of Kagoshima's food and sweet potato distilled liquor cooked right on the dock in a canvas tent. Inside a small terminal buildings was a pleasant booth with many uniformed smiling attendants providing maps and bus schedules etc etc.
English language was at a premium, and western writing even more so. However with the eager help and combined linguistic skills of several attendants I had figured out how to get to my destination of the day: Sengan-en Gardens located at the city limits - after the shuttle bus drop off point.
I had only a few Yen in my possession, therefore finding an ATM was the first order of business. The first bank machine spit out both my Bank Card, and my Credit Card, but no cash, so off to the next bank across the street. Same story, however the bank employees rushed out with a little hand drawn map (they must be used to these lost looking foreign devils by now) and through sign language and lots of bowing and pointing gave me to understand that ONLY the local post office has ATM's that understand English and accept foreign cards. Map in hand, I soon found said friendly ATM and had enough cash to ride the bus and take care of any emergency taxi drives.
It still rained, and my little three buck umbrella lost another one of its spines, so now 50% of the original is keeping me reasonably dry on my search for the hop on/hop off bus, the cheapest way to get around town in pricey Japan.
The City is pleasant, not buried under a forest of sky scrapers yet. Many parks, statues of warrios and heros, museums, some exclusive stores and the usual collection of smaller shops.
My destination, the Sengan-en Gardens, dating back to 1600, offered a peaceful haven from crowds and traffic. Beautifully designed, balanced, with Mangolias, Cherry and Plum trees, Irises and Azaleas in bloom. Peonies provided splashy colour amongst the many shades of green foliage. Stone gardens, tiny creeks and waterfalls, small shrines and arched bridges complemented the greenery, and the gardens had an aspect of perfection from any view point.
Back in town I merely glanced at another array of brand name stores, but visited a Kimono store, just to admire the works of art displayed within it. Exquisitely designed kimonos, obis and jackets were displayed harmoniously inside. The cheapest item costs a couple of hundred dollars ( a shawl) and the most expensive was close to US$ 20,000....Kimonos are not exactly a bargain item. No wonder, composition of design, embroidery, weave and rare silk are combined in such a way as not to create clothes but beautiful works of art in silk.
A good day - but I wish I could speak Japanese...
