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Ibusuki
Ibusuki is an onsen town at the southern tip of the Satsuma Peninsula in Kagoshima Prefecture, in the Kyushu region, about an hour south of Kagoshima city, famous for its sand onsen on the shore, where hot springs heat the sand of the beach.
- Prefecture
- Kagoshima
- Region
- Kyushu
- Journeys
- The Custom Tour of Japan
overview
A warm southern shore, where the spring runs beneath the sand and Mount Kaimon rises from the sea.
Ibusuki faces the open water where Kagoshima Bay meets the Pacific, and the volcanic ground beneath it sends hot springs up all along the coast. At Surigahama beach the water flows under the sand itself, so that steam rises from the shoreline at low tide. For some three hundred years people have come here to lie warmly covered in that sand, and the sand onsen, sunamushi, has become the signature of the town.
It is a gentle, sunny corner of Japan, warmer than most of the country, with palms and hibiscus along the streets and fields of vegetables running to the cliffs. To the west rises Mount Kaimon, 924 metres, a cone so perfect it is called Satsuma Fuji, standing at the edge of the sea. Inland lies Lake Ikeda, the largest lake in Kyushu, a round caldera filled with blue water. Between them the landscape of the peninsula is one of the loveliest in the south.
Ibusuki is easily joined to Kagoshima and Chiran, and for many guests it is the place to slow down at the end of a journey through Kyushu: a sand onsen in the afternoon, an open-air onsen facing the sea at sunset, and a dinner of Kagoshima black pork and bonito from the fishing port of Yamakawa.
see and do
What to see in Ibusuki
The sand onsen of Surigahama
On the beach at Surigahama, attendants dig a hollow in sand heated by the spring beneath, and you lie in a cotton yukata while they cover you to the neck. Ten or fifteen minutes in the warmth is enough, and an onsen afterwards rinses the sand away.
Mount Kaimon
The volcanic cone of 924 metres on the western edge of the town, called Satsuma Fuji, its lower slopes running straight into the sea. It is seen from almost everywhere on the peninsula.
Lake Ikeda
The largest lake in Kyushu, a caldera about fifteen kilometres around and 233 metres deep, with Mount Kaimon reflected beyond it. Its waters are home to great eels that can grow to nearly two metres.
Nagasakibana
The southernmost point of the Satsuma Peninsula, a cape facing Mount Kaimon across the water, with the small Ryugu Shrine of the Urashima Taro legend at its tip.
Tamatebako Onsen
A public onsen on a clifftop at the edge of the town, its open-air pools looking straight across the sea to Mount Kaimon.
Nishi-Oyama Station
The southernmost station of Japan Railways, a small country platform among fields with Mount Kaimon standing behind it.
Tosenkyo
A valley of springs west of the town where somen noodles were first served in a revolving water channel, in 1962; the noodles circle in cold spring water and are caught with chopsticks.
Yamakawa
The fishing port of Ibusuki, in a round bay that was once a crater, where bonito is smoked and dried into katsuobushi, the foundation of Japanese stock.
Chiran
The samurai town about forty minutes away, with seven gardens of the eighteenth century behind the stone walls of its residences, and tea fields all around.
experiences
The best of Ibusuki
A sand onsen, properly done
The sand onsen at Surigahama, or at a ryokan with a sand onsen of its own, with time afterwards for a long soak and a cold glass of tea.
The open-air onsen at sunset
An evening in an open-air onsen facing the sea, as the light goes from gold to blue behind Mount Kaimon.
The Satsuma Peninsula by car
A day by private car around Lake Ikeda, Nagasakibana and the foot of Mount Kaimon, with lunch of revolving somen at Tosenkyo.
The Ibusuki no Tamatebako
The journey from Kagoshima along the bay on a train painted black on one side and white on the other, inspired by the legend of Urashima Taro, with seats turned to the sea.
plan your visit
Ibusuki on a journey through Japan
- How long to stay
- One or two nights at an onsen ryokan by the sea, often at the end of a journey through southern Kyushu.
- Getting there
- By private car from Kagoshima in about an hour and ten minutes, or by the Ibusuki no Tamatebako train from Kagoshima-Chuo Station in under an hour. From Kagoshima Airport the drive takes about an hour and a half.
- Pairs well with
- Ibusuki pairs with Kagoshima, an hour up the bay, and with Kirishima in the mountains to the north, and the drive between them can take in the gardens of Chiran.KagoshimaKirishimaYakushimaKumamotoAmami Oshima
journeys
Ibusuki on a private journey
We bring guests to Ibusuki on the Custom Tour of Japan, created around your party alone, on your dates, with your own Tour Director.
questions
Ibusuki: questions answered
What is the Ibusuki sand onsen?
A sand onsen in which you lie on the beach in a yukata while attendants cover you in sand heated by a hot spring flowing beneath it. It is said to have been enjoyed in Ibusuki for some three hundred years.
How long do you stay in the sand onsen?
About ten to fifteen minutes is usual; the sand is very warm, and the attendants will tell you when to rise. An ordinary onsen afterwards rinses the sand away.
How do you get to Ibusuki from Kagoshima?
By private car in about an hour and ten minutes, or by the Ibusuki no Tamatebako sightseeing train from Kagoshima-Chuo Station in under an hour.
How many nights should you stay in Ibusuki?
One or two nights suits most journeys: time for the sand onsen, an evening in an open-air onsen by the sea, and a drive around Lake Ikeda and Mount Kaimon.
What is there to see near Ibusuki?
Mount Kaimon, Lake Ikeda, the cape of Nagasakibana, the revolving somen of Tosenkyo and, a little further, the samurai gardens of Chiran.
Can Ibusuki be part of a private tour of Japan?
Yes. The Custom Tour of Japan is created around your party alone, on your dates, with your own Tour Director, and it can go anywhere in the country, Ibusuki included. If you would rather travel independently, the Expert Japan Itinerary plans every day for you.
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Ibusuki, planned for you.
Tell us when you would like to travel and what draws you to Ibusuki, and we will answer with a Custom Tour of Japan created around your party alone, or, if you would rather travel independently, an Expert Japan Itinerary that plans every day for you.