Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
PART 1
THE SATSUNAN ISLANDS
薩南諸島
The Satsunans (
薩南諸島
; Satsunan-shotō) are the island porion of Kagoshima-ken. The
balance of the prefecture lies on the mainland. Unlike the more southerly Okinawan
Islands, the Satsunan Islands, especially the northerly ones, have a more temperate cli-
mate, only vaguely subtropical. Although it rarely ever freezes, it can be cool, even cold,
in the winter. The islands are best visited in the summer, but of course at that ime it can
be very hot and humid. Spring is best as fall can mean typhoons. Overall, the vegetaion
of southern Kyushu Island, the Kagoshima area, the Satsuma and Ōsumi Peninsulas and
the Satsunan Islands is blessed with more than abundant rainfall. Thus it is lush, with
cycads, tree ferns and some of the more hardy species of various palm trees found in
great profusion.
The Satsunan group consists of about 25 inhabited islands and more than another
dozen uninhabited islands spread out over three major groups: the Ōsumi, Tokara and
Amami. The Satsunans occupy a total of 966 square miles (2,503 square kilometers).
The iny, uninhabited chains of the Kusagaki (
草垣 群島
; Kusagaki-guntō) and Uji Islands
(
宇治群島
; Uji-guntō), found approximately 31 miles (50 kilometers) further west and
37 miles (60 kilometers) northwest, respecively, of Kuroshima in the East China Sea are
not included in this deiniion.
