Day 9 - Minamisatsuma to Ibusuki
The route for the day is coast to coast with a short climb to Chiran, continuing to climb over the range with a steep descent down to the coast and a flat run into Ibusuki.
The stop at Chiran is early in terms of distance and certainly in terms of climbing. We probably lingered there a little too long, and combined with the unplanned shochu distillery tour, we had a lot of ground to cover in the afternoon and ended up rolling into Ibusuki in the dark.
The route after Chiran is great riding, through forest and farmland with rice and sweet potato being harvested. Just make sure you leave yourself enough time to enjoy it!
Route
Stay and Eat
Ibusuki is a seaside tourist area with the hot sands as the main draw card. The accommodation is accordingly catering to the high volume tourist experience. We enjoyed our stay at the Kyukamura Ibusuki. It's a really nice, quiet and secluded location right on the seashore. Our room had a view of the ocean and a small enclosed balcony. The massive dining room was a contrast to the family run ryokan experience.
See and Do
Chiran was our destination for a lunch stop and to check out the Samurai Residences and Peace Museum. Chiran Airfield was the base for the "special air attacks" in World War 2. The museum contains the personal effects and last letters home of the Tokko (kamikaze pilots) who took off from Chiran airfield.
With only one day (two nights) in Ibusuki, we opted to take a day trip towards Kaimondake (Mount Kaimon). It's a cone volcano that is referred to as the "Mt Fuji of Satsuma". Without researching too much we figured we could get off the train at Kaimon station for a good view of the mountain, find some shops and locate a decent lunch. As we approached Kaimon station it appeared to be just a station in a paddock with nary a house in sight, let alone a quaint shopping street and the usual tourist accoutrements. So we panicked and opted to stay on the train to the end of the line at Makurazaki.
At Makurazaki we headed for Meiji-Gura shochu distillery. It has an interesting display of the shochu making process, some historical equipment and what looked like a fully functional brewery just waiting for the sweet potato harvest. Most importantly, they had a tasting bar with a welcoming host who guided us through the range.
