Sakurajima bang

     

The region of southern Kyūshū has long intrigued me. Over the centuries, there’ve been some fascinating conflicts involving both fellow countrymen & those from across the seas. Equally as interesting were the many positive developments that stemmed from early international relations (more on this later, so stay tuned.) Finally, how can we forget Satsuma-pottery or the humble satsuma, that small, loose skinned, orange fruit.

My visit there the other week, accompanied by Pool of Zen, confirmed that it very much is a unique corner of Japan, and more than deserving of the crawl-like, all-day drive that it took to get there. Of all the places we visited & of all the things we saw, the first thing I’d like to share with you is my first experience with an active volcano.

We arrived at Sengan-en (仙巌園) moments before it opened its gates. I’ve got to say, the whole place is amazing. It’s like an historical theme-park where everything is the real deal. You all really do have to visit. Anyway, that’s where I snapped the above shot.

I took the photo below, I’m guessing, moments after the mountain-top explosion. I say guessing because there was no audible bang, nor did the ground shake.

(Sengan-en official site)

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  • Travis Seifman

    Whoa. Crazy! I’m amazed there was no audible sound, or shaking. But, what timing! Nice shot!

  • Dennis Boyd

    Nice pictures!  Looks like a very interesting place.

  • Anonymous

    Yeah. No doubt, hearing a boom would have been a shock. But, I wonder if (not hearing but) simply seeing something like this creates the bigger shock.

    Hollywood has always taught me that the bang & the boom go together. Perhaps the sound had too far to travel on this occasion.

  • Anonymous

    Thanks, but the surface has yet to be significantly scratched. I assure you, there is a ton more for me to post yet.

  • Thepoolofzen

    And let me re-assure his assurance…. I watched him take… oh 200 photos at the joint!  :)  (I know this because I copied each of his shots!)

  • http://www.ilearnjapanese.com/ Roberto

    Looking forward to more photos of this place!

  • Anonymous

    I did take a few. But, I think the clear winner of most-shots-taken would be you. It was a great spot though, wasn’t it?

  • Thepoolofzen

    It sure was, and I’m sure I did date a few (1 or 2) more… It is rough going back through the photos and having to deal with that grey sky. 

    Its easy too see why there is a constant cover of ash on most everything there in Kagoshima.  Sengan-En was in a really awesome spot.  I bet over the generations the Shimadzu had seen an amazing array of fireworks from Sakura-Jima. 

    Definitely a must see spot for anyone visitting!

    Matt

  • http://twitter.com/ichigoichielove Lisa/リサ

    <3 <3 <3
    I love Sakurajima (as my obsessive and constant posts from way back when prove), and I also like Sengan-en! When I went it was a bit…browner though, nice to see a bit of colour here – and you really got a GREAT view of the volcano. Some days it's a bit hazy and hides away. Cheek bugger. :P

  • Anonymous

    Yes, the weather that day was a little disappointing. The day before in Chiran was pretty hard to beat though.

  • Anonymous

    I’ve had the same thing happen to me. I visited the Suizenji garden in Kumamoto, it could not’ve been browner! I’ll just have to go back there.

    I hope u r having fun on your Euro adventure ^__^

  • Duncan Virostko

    Probably the reason you didn’t hear a bang was due to a phenomenon known as ” Acoustic Shadow” . Due to either topographical or climatic reasons, the sound of the blast failed to propagate. This phenomenon is not very well understood, but has been observed frequently during wartime, especially in the American Civil War. I’ll bet either air currents, humidity, or something to do with the terrain about Sakurajima was responsible for the creation of an Acoustic shadow.