Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Forming an island (but now connected by a land bridge) and rising 3,665 feet (1,117
meters) above sea level, Sakurajima is one of Japan's major tourist attractions. It forms
one part of Kirishima-Yaku National Park (
霧島 屋久国立公園
; Kirishima-Yaku Kokuritsu
Kōen), Japan's first national park. The other sections of this disconnected park are the ancient
Sugi forests on the island of Yakushima; the land's end at Cape Sata, and the 23 volcanic peaks
of Kirishima (
霧島市
; Kirishima-shi) about 19 miles (30 kilometers) and less than an hour to
the north. The two tallest peaks in the Kirishima Mountain range, 5,577-feet (1,700-meter)
Mt Karakuni (
韓国岳
; Karakuni-daké) and 5,164-feet (1,574-meter) Mt Takachiho (
高千穂
岳
; Takachiho-daké), are the mythological origin of the Japanese sun goddess Amaterasu (
天
照
; Amaterasu) and the birthplace of Japan. You may have already seen the Kirishima Moun-
tains. They were filmed as the volcano lair of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the evil head of SPECTRE,
in the 1967 James Bond movie
You Only Live Twice
.
Part of Kagoshima-ken is on the mainland and part of it spreads across the Satsunan Is-
lands (
薩南藷島
; Satsunan-shotō), which constitute the northern half of the Ryukyus. The
Satsunans include about 25 inhabited islands and extend southwards across the Ōsumi,
Tokara and Amami chains for about 312 miles (500 kilometers), all the way to Okinawa.
The southernmost Satsunan Island, and the southernmost island of Kagoshima Prefecture,
is Yoron, which lies a mere 14 miles (22 kilometers) above Okinawa's north-ernmost tip at
Cape Hedo.
Where Kagoshima Prefecture ends, Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa begins.
Okinawa Island, which is located just about in the middle of the Ryukyu chain, serves as the
dividing line between the two prefectures. Okinawa-ken consists of the group of islands col-
lectively called Ryukyu-shotō by the Japanese and includes more than 50 inhabited islands.
Starting at the north and heading south, the prefecture begins just below Yoron Island at Ok-
inawa main island (
沖縛本島
; Okinawa-hontō), the largest island landmass in the Ryukyu
Archipelago. Okinawa is, in turn, surrounded by many lesser islands, including one lesser
group of islands, the mini-archipelago of the Keramas.
