Kyūshū
This chill, seaside seahorse hatchery is unique, offering close-up looks at thousands of hatchling seahorses, plus information, videos, souvenirs and a small cafe. Among the exhibits is the only two-headed seahorse ever seen (tiny, and preserved in a vial, as it did not live long).
It's in the seaside nature park Bandokorobana Shizen Kōen and best visited as a stop on your way to Makurazaki or as a day trip out of Ibusuki.
26.98 MILES
In 1658, the 19th Shimazu lord laid out his pleasure garden on this hilly, rambling bayside property of groves, hillside trails and one of Japan's most…
8.02 MILES
There is perhaps no more eloquent monument to the futility of war than this harrowing museum about WWII kamikaze pilots. Around 2km west of town, Chiran’s…
Museum of the Meiji Restoration
24.23 MILES
This museum offers insights into the unique social system of education, samurai loyalty and sword techniques that made Satsuma one of Japan's leading…
9.09 MILES
Seven of the mid-Edo-period residences along Chiran’s 700m street of samurai houses have gardens open to the public. Water is usually symbolised in the…
0.09 MILES
Down a side road between Ibusuki and Makurazaki, this small-ish seaside nature park has been noted for its beauty since an Edo-period surveyor named it…
14.67 MILES
Lovely Chiringashima is connected to the mainland by a thin land bridge that appears only at low tide, when hikers, beachcombers and tide-pool explorers…
25.75 MILES
The name 'Observatory' is misleading, as there's no building here. The site is a shaded picnic area with some lava escape tunnels and walking trails that…
13.15 MILES
This striking museum offers a history of Satsuma plus displays of Chinese ceramics and gleaming Satsuma-yaki in a temple-style building that seems to…
0.09 MILES
Down a side road between Ibusuki and Makurazaki, this small-ish seaside nature park has been noted for its beauty since an Edo-period surveyor named it…
8.02 MILES
There is perhaps no more eloquent monument to the futility of war than this harrowing museum about WWII kamikaze pilots. Around 2km west of town, Chiran’s…
9.09 MILES
Seven of the mid-Edo-period residences along Chiran’s 700m street of samurai houses have gardens open to the public. Water is usually symbolised in the…
13.15 MILES
This striking museum offers a history of Satsuma plus displays of Chinese ceramics and gleaming Satsuma-yaki in a temple-style building that seems to…
14.67 MILES
Lovely Chiringashima is connected to the mainland by a thin land bridge that appears only at low tide, when hikers, beachcombers and tide-pool explorers…
24.13 MILES
This statue and landmark commemorates the students from Satsuma (the feudal name for Kagoshima) who went to study Western technology in the UK in 1865…
7. Museum of the Meiji Restoration
24.23 MILES
This museum offers insights into the unique social system of education, samurai loyalty and sword techniques that made Satsuma one of Japan's leading…
24.32 MILES
This monument honours the Kagoshima samurai turned statesman (1830–78) who helped overthrow the feudal regime and pave the way for the modernisation of…