A Note from Chizuru — August 2026
I originally wrote this story in Japanese on October 25, 2021.
At the time, I was thinking about something very simple: how to spend the last few hours of a trip to Kagoshima.
For many travelers, the final day means heading to the airport early and waiting for the flight home.
But there is another way to spend those last few hours.
Not far from Kagoshima Airport is Hinatayama, an old hot spring area that is part of everyday life here in Kirishima.
Rather than rewriting the story entirely from today’s point of view, I decided to share it in English while keeping the feelings I had when I wrote it in 2021.
So, this is how I once imagined the perfect ending to a journey through Kagoshima.
One Last Day in Kagoshima
A trip to Kagoshima.
The happiest days always seem to pass far too quickly.
On the final day, there is a flight to catch, so naturally many people leave plenty of time and head to the airport early.
But when I used to visit Kagoshima as a traveler, I always felt the same way:
I wanted just a little more time in Kagoshima.
For me, waiting at the airport was never a particularly enjoyable way to spend those final hours.
I would have a cup of tea, watch the airplanes, and slowly begin to feel that little sadness that comes at the end of a good trip.
“Ah… it’s really over.”
Looking back, I have to admit that much of this was simply because I hadn’t done enough research.
I didn’t know that not far from Kagoshima Airport, there was an entirely different way to spend those last few hours.
There were wonderful local hot springs surprisingly close by.
And I had no idea.
Something I Didn’t Know When I Was a Traveler
My trips were rarely carefully planned.
Usually, I simply felt like going somewhere—and went.
So when I visited Kagoshima, I often followed the same routes I remembered from trips many years earlier, visiting places such as Ibusuki and Kirishima.
For me, being in Kagoshima itself was often more important than checking famous places off a list.
This may sound strange, but at the time I barely understood where things were.
I didn’t really know where Kirishima was in relation to the rest of Kagoshima.
I didn’t know that Kagoshima Airport itself was located in Kirishima City.
And I certainly didn’t know that there were well-known hot spring areas close to the airport.
After moving here, I discovered something that surprised me.
Close to Kagoshima Airport is Hinatayama Onsen, a historic hot spring area quite different from the better-known mountain resorts of Kirishima Onsen.
Suddenly, I realized how much I had missed during all those earlier trips.
A Hot Spring Before the Flight Home
Later, when friends came to visit, I noticed that they often felt the same anxiety I once had on the final day.
They were watching the clock.
Thinking about the flight.
Wondering when they should leave for the airport.
So instead of going straight there, I sometimes suggested spending a little time at one of the hot springs in Hinatayama first.
They could enjoy the warm water, relax, and then make their way to the airport without rushing.
They seemed genuinely happy with that way of ending their trip.
And it made me wonder whether many travelers feel the same way I once did.
Perhaps the final hours of a journey don’t have to feel like waiting for the journey to end.
They can still be part of the journey.
Hinatayama — An Everyday Side of Kirishima
Hinatayama isn’t a place where you need to rush from one sightseeing attraction to another.
Much of the area is simply an ordinary residential neighborhood.
You won’t necessarily find dramatic scenery everywhere you look.
But that is also part of what I like about it.
This is everyday Kagoshima.
Everyday Kirishima.
You may hear local people speaking in Kagoshima dialect.
You may find a small bathhouse that people from the neighborhood have been visiting for years.
There are also private baths known as kazokuyu, or family baths, where you can enjoy a hot spring in your own private space.
For someone visiting Kagoshima, spending the last part of a trip somewhere like this can offer a very different memory from spending it inside an airport terminal.
A Few More Stops Before You Leave
There are also places nearby where you can pick up something to take home.
Satsuma Jokiya, known for the popular Kagoshima sweet Kasutadon, has a shop in the area.
Hinatayama Saigodon Village is also nearby, and can be another place to look for local products and souvenirs.
So one possible way to spend your final hours might be very simple:
Pick up a few souvenirs.
Then visit a local hot spring.
Take your time.
Let the warm water ease the tiredness from your journey.
And only then, make your way to Kagoshima Airport.
There is no need to fill every remaining minute with sightseeing.
Sometimes, a quiet ending is better.
Leaving Kagoshima While You’re Still Warm
There is something I like about the idea of boarding the plane while your body is still warm from the hot spring.
Then the airplane rises above Kirishima.
Perhaps you catch a glimpse of the city below.
Perhaps Sakurajima appears in the distance.
And somewhere around that moment, you realize that you are really leaving Kagoshima.
It might make saying goodbye just a little harder.
But perhaps that isn’t such a bad thing.
If a journey has given you something worth missing, a little sadness at the end may simply be part of it.
That’s the way I would like people to finish their journey through Kagoshima.
Not by simply waiting for it to end.
But by enjoying Kagoshima right up until the last few hours.
A Note for Visitors in 2026
This story was originally written in October 2021 and reflects my experiences and impressions at that time.
Information about individual hot springs, shops, facilities, opening hours, admission fees, transportation times, and other details may have changed since then.
If you are planning to spend time in Hinatayama before a flight, please check current information for the places you would like to visit and allow plenty of time to return a rental car, check in, pass through security, and board your flight.
What has not changed is the thought behind this story:
Your journey through Kagoshima doesn’t have to end the moment you start thinking about the airport.
There may still be time for one last warm bath.
One last quiet moment.
And one last memory of Kagoshima before you go home.
Originally published in Japanese on October 25, 2021.
Read the original Japanese article →
出張や観光で霧島に来られた方で、
静かに過ごせる場所を探している方は、こちらもご覧ください。
