My Kagoshima: Getting Around the Region

Navigating Japan is not for the faint-hearted. Most overseas visitors arrive in Tokyo, only to enter a world of alphabets they cannot read, streets with non-consecutive house numbers, and train stations that are the world's busiest.

In my previous My Kagoshima posts:

I emphasized the need to "chunk it."

Kagoshima Prefecture is a manageable chunk of Japan that is as far as you can get from Tokyo by bullet train (910 miles, 1,464 km). 

I picked out three areas in Kagoshima Prefecture: Kagoshima City, Yakushima Island, and Kirishima (the Kirishima Volcanic Group section of Kirishima-Kinkowan National Park). 

I described how to get to Kagoshima Prefecture from the USA. 

I left you at Kagoshima Airport or Kagoshima City's main train station (Kagoshima-Chuo). Either way, the arrival is manageable: Kagoshima airport has 10 gates, Kagoshima-Chuo has 14 platforms.

In this post I describe how to get from the airport or train station to the three areas of Kagoshima I selected.

Kagoshima Airport Bus Stop

Interactive Map

• Buy your bus ticket from one of the machines opposite the bus stops. Somebody always seems to be there to help.

• Go to stop 2 for  Kagoshima-Chuo (train station). Buses that continue to the Express Boat Terminal are indicated in red on the timetable displayed at the stop. [Current bus times and prices.]

• Go to stop 3 for the Kirishima Iwasaki Hotel. [Current bus times and prices.]  

• When you return to the airport from the Kirishima Iwasaki Hotel pay on the bus when you arrive at Kagoshima Airport.

Kagoshima-Chuo (Train Station) Bus Stop

Interactive Map

• If you arrive by train, take the east exit from Kagoshima-Chuo.

• The bus station is inside the Nangoku Nissei Building.

• Buy your airport bus ticket at the counter marked "Airport." [Current bus times and prices.]

Express Boat Terminal

Interactive Map

Jetfoil to Miyanoura Port (Yakushima Island)

• Buy your ticket at the counter for Toppy and Rocket jetfoils. [Current times and prices.]

• Alternatively buy the ticket online for a small fee from Yakushima Travel. 

• One hour before travel, swap the ticket for a boarding ticket at the counter marked for your departure.

Bus to Airport (via Kagoshima-Chuo Train Station)

• Buy your airport bus ticket at the counter marked "Airport" inside the terminal.

• The airport bus stop is just outside the terminal. Buses are timed to be convenient for jetfoil arrivals and departures. The timetable is displayed at the bus stop.

All My Kagoshima posts