We used our Japan Rail Pass 🔗 to travel to Ibusuki. We boarded the 7:51 AM Nanohana Rapid Service at Kagoshima-Chūō Station and traveled on the Ibusuki Makurazaki Line along the eastern coast of the Satsuma Peninsula to Ibusuki Station. It took us a little more than an hour to get there.
Ibusuki appeared to be a quiet, laid-back town. We walked through the peaceful local neighborhoods, which had a very rustic feel and were very different from anything we had seen in Japan thus far. Saraku Sand Bath Hall was about a 20-minute walk away from Ibusuki Station.
Ibusuki’s claim to fame is sunamushi, or sand bath. It is the only place—not just in Japan, but in the entire world—where you can experience this. Saraku Sand Bath Hall was an onsen that provided the sunamushi right by the water’s edge. The fee was ¥1,080 per person. In addition to that, we paid ¥120 to purchase a hand towel for the face and head, and ¥200 for renting a bath towel, which was convenient as we didn’t have to carry our own.
After buying the tickets and collecting the towels, we were each given a yukata (cotton kimono) and directed to the gender-segregated changing rooms. I had to strip down completely and wear only the yukata. From the dressing room, I headed down to the sand bath area on the seashore. There were shallow pits already dug out, and we were asked to lie down flat on our backs in them. The attendants then covered us with hot sand up to our necks. We had to wrap the hand towel around our heads to stop sweat and sand from going into our eyes and mouths.
The recommended time was about 10 to 15 minutes. I could feel the blood pulsing in my veins and I was sweating profusely (the back of my yukata was completely drenched when I finally got up). When we were done, the attendants asked us to simply pull our hands out, move the sand from our torsos, sit up, and then free our legs. Being covered in sand felt like there was a wall of bricks on our bodies, and I thought we would barely be able to move, but it was ridiculously easy to free our hands and get up. Overall, this was a very exhilarating experience.
After the sand bath, we walked back to our respective changing rooms to experience the onsen. Upon re-entering, the first section was a large bathroom with a tank of water and pails. I had to remove the yukata, drop it off in a bin, and wash the sand off my body before proceeding further. The water was not heated, but after being in the sand bath and sweating it out, it didn’t feel cold; it was actually rather refreshing.
Next was the main room of the onsen, featuring a large pool of water from geothermally heated natural springs and the communal bathing area. The bathing stations had stools, faucets, buckets, and toiletries. It was a little awkward initially to be au naturel in a public setting, but that was more about shedding my mental inhibitions than anything else. I had a quick rinse and got into the pool. There were only a couple of other guys around and they left after some time, so I had the place all to myself. After a very hectic week of travel, it was wonderful to just soak, and the onsen was an enjoyable experience.
We walked back to Ibusuki Station afterward, but there were no seats available on the immediate next train back, and we couldn’t board that particular train without reservations. So, we waited for the next train and had some time to kill. The Ibusuki Ekimae Foot Bath was right next to the station. Of course, after the sunamushi and onsen experience, this wasn’t as enticing, but we spent some time there as we waited for our ride.
With our Japan Rail Pass 🔗, we boarded the 11:28 AM Nanohana Rapid Service back to Kagoshima-Chūō Station. Like the journey there, we traveled parallel to the eastern coast of the Satsuma Peninsula and had great views of the sea, the other side of the bay, and Sakurajima. It took a little more than an hour to get back.
After reaching Kagoshima-Chūō, our plan was to visit Sakurajima, an active volcano—in fact, the most active one in Japan. We took the tram from Kagoshima-Chūō Eki Mae to Suizokukanguchi and then walked to the Sakurajima Ferry Kagoshima Port. The Sakurajima Ferry ride was about 15 minutes.
We decided to take the Sakurajima Island View Bus, which takes passengers around the main spots in the western region of Sakurajima. We bought the tickets and boarded the bus at the Sakurajima Ferry Terminal. Our first stop was the Karasujima Observatory. From here, we could see panoramic views of the mountain, with volcanic eruptions of steam and white ash clearly visible. A short ride later, we stopped at the Akamizu Scenic Square, which features a scenic park and the “Portrait of a Shout” monument.
After a while there, our bus climbed the mountain road and reached the Yunohira Observatory, the highest point on Sakurajima accessible to the public. This was as close to the volcano as we could get, and it was impressive to see the peak up close. We stopped here for a good amount of time, giving us a chance to walk around and enjoy the vistas.
The bus then headed back down, passed the Sakurajima Ferry Terminal, and dropped us off at the Sakurajima Visitor Center. It had a small hall with information and a theater showing a film about Sakurajima. We also saw a model of the large white radish that Sakurajima is famous for.
The Sakurajima Volcanic Shore Park and Footbath was a short walk from the Visitor Center. At around 100 meters, this is Japan’s largest footbath, offering nice views of Kinko Bay and Sakurajima. We spent some time there soaking our feet in the hot spring water and then walked back to the terminal for the ride back to Kagoshima.
The ferry ride back also gave us splendid views of Sakurajima in the evening light. We spent most of the time on the upper deck and even saw a pod of dolphins in Kinko Bay. As we approached Kagoshima, we could see the Amuran Ferris Wheel near the Kagoshima-Chūō Station in the distance.
We walked around the city and visited Daiso, the Japanese equivalent of a dollar store. They had a massive variety of items priced from ¥100 upwards. After shopping for trinkets and souvenirs, we went to Sukiya Kagoshima Tenmonkan Restaurant for dinner.
We took the tram back from Izurodori to Kagoshima-Chūō Eki Mae and walked back to the Toyoko Inn. For our second night, we got an even bigger room with two beds and a lounge area. The bathroom was more or less the same size as the previous one. We had breakfast only on the first day, which consisted mostly of Japanese fare.
🧖🏽♂️ Saraku Sand Bath Hall
🚊 Kagoshima-Chūō Eki Mae to Suizokukanguchi
⛴️ Sakurajima Ferry
🌋 Sakurajima
🚍 Sakurajima Island View Bus
🌋 Sakurajima-Kinkowan Geopark
🍽️ Sukiya Kagoshima Tenmonkan Restaurant
🚊 Izurodori to Kagoshima-Chūō Eki Mae
🛏️ Toyoko Inn Kagoshima