Family Trip Kagoshima, Osaka, Kyoto, Himeji 2025

Osaka Zoo

Osaka Day Trip

Blake's mom and brother visited us for almost two weeks! Besides spending some time in Himeji, we also traveled to multiple other Japanese cities, and the first was Osaka. We walked around Tennōji Park and grab some snacks from a konbini to eat. Near the park is Tennoji Zoo, which we explored together. Part of it was under construction as it's undergoing some renovations. We caught an early dinner in the Shinsekai district, then walk around Shinsekai for a bit. Shinsekai is right across from one of the zoo's entrances, so we didn't have to go far! Before heading back home, we made a stop at the Pokémon Center in Osaka Station. 

Kagoshima (5 Days)

Kagoshima Aquarium

We arrived to Kagoshima via Shinkansen and checked in to our hotel. The next day we went to the Kaogshima Aquarium and ate lunch at their restaurant. They had tonkotsu, a local specialty that you could order for lunch. It was quite delicious. 

The next day we took the Sakurajima Ferry to the Sakurajima port area. Sakurajima is a famous volcano just outside the city that is still active and regularly emits small amounts of smoke, with occasional large eruptions also occurring. Near the port was the small Sakurajima Nature Dinosaur Park that we walked up to to start the day. It seemed mostly to have slides for kids that were shaped like dinosaurs. We only stayed a short time due to the heat and flies. Next we took a sightseeing bus to Yunohira Observatory, where you can look at the volcano from a distance. The observatory has a small gift shop and once finished, you can catch the bus back into the port area. 

Near the port area is the Sakurajima Visitor Center and outside the center is Sakurajima Nagisa Park Foot Bath. It's a public foot bath anyone can use, the water is quite hot but some sections were still quite busy. After we soaked our feet for a bit, we walked down the trail south of the Visitor Center and Foot Bath before heading back to the ferry to return to Kagoshima.  

For our castle stamp book, we had our obligatory stop at Kagoshima Castle although there is no actual castle left, with some outer defensive walls being the most visible remains. On the castle grounds, there is Reimeikan Museum. It's about 430 yen for admission and has about 3 floors, with some areas having no photography allowed. From the castle we walked to catch a sightseeing bus to the top of Shiroyama Park, including the Shiroyama Observatory, which looked out over the city and Sakurajima. The area was quite nice and we walked down Shiroyama Park back to the hotel and prepared to leave in the morning.

 

Kyoto Day Trip

 

We went to Kyoto for a quick day trip. After arriving we walked to Tō-ji Temple southwest of the station and explored it for a while. Lunch was at a traditional Japanese restaurant in AEON M near Kyoto Station, and we got to do a little shopping. Our final stop was Kyoto Gyoen National Garden. Unfortunately, the  Kyoto Imperial Palace, which is located in the garden, was closed due to an irregular schedule. 

Kobe Day Trip

Our Kobe day trip was an excursion to check out Costco and their food court. We may have ordered a bit too much food but it was worth it. It's not everyday we get to order American style pizza. On our way back home we made a stop at Goshikizuka Kofun (burial mound) and then Maiko beach. 

Himeji

On our last free day we saw Himeji Castle and Kokoen (Japanese Garden). We even found that you can go up to the roof of the shopping center downtown and see a nice view of the castle from there!