Japan in the spring - Kagoshima

Kagoshima was the first city where we saw the cherry blossom in bloom on this trip.it was such a pretty sight especially after anticipating it for a week.  We saw the cherry blossoms at the Sengan-en Garden, part of the Sengan-en complex, a stately home belonging to the Shimadzu family built since the 17th century.  It is a beautifully landscaped traditional Japanese garden attached to the Shimadzu clan residence.  

Cherry blossom in the Sengan-en garden

Again the Kagoshima city administration offered us a free shuttle from the port to the city centre from where we took a taxi to the garden.  The garden could also be reached via the scenic tram loop but as it was at the far end of the loop, it would take an hour to get there via tram.  Given that the sky was threatening rain, we thought it prudent to get there as soon as possible before the rain started. 

We made the right decision because it started to rain just after we finished touring the beautiful garden and home.  Fellow passengers who took the ship's short excursion to the garden arrived just as we finished and they toured the garden in the rain.   We took the opportunity to go inside the restaurant for lunch to try the famous Kagoshima kurobuta pork (black pig initially bred from Berkshire pigs). 

The entrance gate to the complex

Rhododendrons in the garden

It seems that every Japanese garden has a bamboo grove

The landscaped garden with the essential pond

The gorgeous spring colours extended up the mountain side

Pine trees along the waterfront facing the famous volcano

The famous Sakurajima volcano was shrouded in clouds while we were there so we never saw the top

There are several shrines in the garden but this Cat shrine seems very special

Prayers and wishes left by worshippers for their cats

One of the impressive gates on the property

The layered roofs of the main mansion

Love these knots at entrances!

Inside the mansion

This room with decorative panels of birds opened out onto the garden

Exquisite!

The beauitful central courtyard with its own garden pond - note how the tree inside seemed to extend in harmony with the ones outside

The Master bedroom

The dining room - an interesting mix of Japanese and western furniture for entertaining foreign visitors.

The set menu for the kurobuta pork at the garden restaurant.  The Tankan orange drink on the right was delicious.

The other volcano nearby Kaimondake was less shy - we were able to see its clear conical shape from the ship 

I enjoyed the walk through the Sengan-en gardens very much - there were lots of different kinds of flowers, trails that took us through different levels of the garden, all the time with the lovely spring green of the trees both as backdrop as well as being an essential part of the garden.  It was a very enjoyable visit.

Next port:  Nagasaki