Historic Sites, Places of Scenic Beauty, and Natural Monuments of Kagoshima

Designated a National Natural Monument in 2012, the Pyroclastic Flow Deposits at Natsui Coast in Shibushi City, Kagoshima Prefecture, expose roughly one kilometre of nearly vertical, 50-metre-high sea cliffs of consolidated volcanic ash. The deposits were laid down some 22,000 to 30,000 years ago by the Ito Pyroclastic Flow from the Aira Caldera, the colossal eruption that gave southern Kyushu its signature Shirasu plateaus. Welded portions of the flow survive as offshore islets and small capes, creating a miniature ria-style coast — an open-air textbook of southern Kyushu's volcanic past.

The habitat of Podostemaceae plants in the Anraku and Mae Rivers of Shibushi City, Kagoshima Prefecture. Designated a National Natural Monument in 2010, this site marks the northernmost distribution of this remarkable plant family in Asia. Discover flowering plants that cling to bedrock like moss and witness the rare coexistence of two distinct genera in a single river.

The Sumiyoshi Shell Mound on Okinoerabu, a Historic Site since 2007, is a Jomon-to-Yayoi village of stone-walled pit houses with pottery and obsidian from Kyushu.

Early Upper Palaeolithic sites on Tanegashima, Kagoshima, a Historic Site since 2022, with pit traps and stone clusters beneath ash of about 35,000 years ago.

Kandelia mangrove forests on Tanegashima, Kagoshima, a Natural Monument since 2015 and enlarged in 2022, at the northern limit of natural mangroves in Asia.

The southern limit of wild Edohigan cherries on Mount Kurino in Yusui, Kagoshima, a Natural Monument since 1923, flowering pale pink before the leaves in late March.

The Biro Island Subtropical Plant Community in Shibushi Bay, a Special Natural Monument since 1956, is an uninhabited island clad in palm and subtropical forest.

A grove of plum trees at Fujikawa Tenjin in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima, a Natural Monument since 1941, whose branches root where they touch the ground like reclining dragons.

Tidal flats of the Manose River estuary in Minamisatsuma, Kagoshima, a Natural Monument since 2007, with Japan's largest hamabo stand, fiddler crabs and over 130 bird species.

A 209.5-metre cave in the Shirasu pyroclastic deposits of Soo, Kagoshima, a Natural Monument since 2021 and one of the largest caves of its kind in Japan.

The habitat of an endemic river plant on Yakushima, Kagoshima, a Natural Monument since 2010, growing only on granite boulders in the Isso River and its tributary.

The habitat of yakkoso, a parasitic plant on chinquapin roots, in Hioki, Kagoshima, a Natural Monument since 1922, whose stems resemble an Edo footman each autumn.

A natural forest of an oak endemic to the Ryukyus behind Yamatohama village on Amami Oshima, a Natural Monument since 2008, protected as a sacred mountain.

Kagoshima’s registered properties across designations, with featured heritage and travel notes.

The complete kokuhō catalogue — browse by prefecture, period, and category.

Nationwide jūyō bunkazai — architecture, sculpture, painting, crafts, and documents.