10.06.2025 鹿児島 Kagoshima, Japan

Letters from Kagoshima

A slow bus ride through Kagoshima. A quiet garden once walked by lords. Stone paths, soft moss, and the volcano always there, just across the bay.

Shot 2023
Nikon F3
Ilford HP5
19 frames

In December 2023, after the surreal dinosaur park, we boarded a bus into Kagoshima—its streets settled, the volcanic island of Sakurajima always visible across the bay.

We stepped off at Sengan‑en (仙巌園), the former summer villa and strolling garden of the Shimazu clan (島津氏), who ruled the Satsuma Domain from the late 12th century until the abolition of feudal domains in 1871. Created in 1658 by Shimazu Mitsuhisa, the garden folds the bay and the ever‑smoking Sakurajima into its design—soothing water, bamboo, stone lanterns, and the distant rumble of a living volcano.

Nearby, the remains of Kagoshima Castle—the clan’s main stronghold through the Edo period—offer quiet testimony to centuries of samurai rule. We wandered the paths among shrines and ponds, the calm of the landscape barely disturbed by ash drifting across the sky.

All photos in this post were taken with my Nikon F3 on Ilford HP5.

Black and white view over station platforms and a train to city buildings, a high-rise and a Ferris wheel, Kagoshima, Japan — 202335BW5-23

Black and white shinkansen car 4 at the platform with a Sakura to Shin-Osaka sign and a Ferris wheel behind, Kagoshima, Japan — 202335BW5-24

Black and white self-portrait of the photographer in a hotel room mirror between two wall lamps, Kagoshima, Japan — 202335BW5-26

Black and white tray labelled 'Used drip bag' next to a coiled telephone cord on a light wooden desk, Kagoshima, Japan — 202335BW5-31

Black and white view of Sakurajima, a palm tree and a white building through a triangular bus window, Kagoshima, Japan — 202335BW5-17

Black and white view from the back of a bus through its front windows onto a sunlit crosswalk and street, Kagoshima, Japan — 202335BW5-21

Black and white interior of a city bus with seated passengers and a crosswalk visible through the windows, Kagoshima, Japan — 202335BW5-18

Black and white view through a glass door of a bus driver in a white shirt at the wheel, with reflections, Kagoshima, Japan — 202335BW5-22

Black and white view of the volcano Sakurajima and a row of palm trees framed by a bus window, Kagoshima, Japan — 202335BW5-15

Black and white photo of a hand holding an adult admission ticket for Sengan-en above a paved floor, Kagoshima, Japan — 202335BW5-01

Black and white low view of white shop banners with black lettering hanging from a wooden eave against the sky, Kagoshima, Japan — 202335BW5-02

Black and white low view of a banner reading 薩摩お土産処 (Satsuma souvenirs) hanging from an eave, Kagoshima, Japan — 202335BW5-03

Black and white view of a plastered gate with a tiled roof and a round crest between stone walls, Sengan-en, Kagoshima, Japan — 202335BW5-08

Black and white open tatami room with painted folding screens, a stone basin and benches in front, Sengan-en, Kagoshima, Japan — 202335BW5-10

Black and white garden pond with trees and the sun reflected among rocks and fallen maple leaves, Sengan-en, Kagoshima, Japan — 202335BW5-12

Black and white close-up of a single maple leaf lying on a large stone in dappled light, Sengan-en, Kagoshima, Japan — 202335BW5-14

Black and white view from under a curtain with the Shimazu crest to old buildings and Sakurajima, Sengan-en, Kagoshima, Japan — 202335BW5-06

Black and white corner of a wooden villa with tiled roofs above a raked gravel courtyard, Sengan-en, Kagoshima, Japan — 202335BW5-11

Black and white veranda of a wooden villa with painted screens inside and a bamboo fence in front, Sengan-en, Kagoshima, Japan — 202335BW5-09