Kagoshima Chuo Station
Kagoshima Station area with tram, Kagoshima, Kyushu
©Japan Visitor
鹿児島中央駅
Kagoshima Chuo Station: read a guide to Kagoshima Chuo Station the southern terminus of the Kyushu shinkansen.
Kagoshima Chuo Station in Kagoshima is the main point of access to this port city on the southern coast of Kyushu. Kagoshima Chuo Station was redeveloped especially to receive shinkansen bullet trains and has superseded Kagoshima Station as the main train station in the city. Previously the station was called West Kagoshima Station.
Amu Plaza is the large commercial building housing Kagoshima Chuo Station. It is home to a wide variety of shops and department stores. Amu Plaza also has several restaurants and a cinema.
Divided into two parts, the Premium building is home to pricier, more upmarket establishments. On the roof is a ferris wheel that features some all-glass cars and fantastic views over the city and across to Sakurajima.
Kyushu Shinkansen
Kagoshima Chuo Station is the terminus of the Kyushu Shinkansen from Hakata Station in Fukuoka. Some journey times from Kagoshima are: Kumamoto 46 minutes, Hakata 1 hour 25 minutes, Hiroshima 2 hours 33 minutes, Osaka 4 hours and Tokyo Station 6 hours 42 minutes.
Nippo Line
Kagoshima Chuo Station is also the terminus for the Nippo Line from Kokura Station in Kitakyushu, via Oita and Miyazaki to Kagoshima Station and Kagoshima Chuo Station.
Kyushu Shinkansen, Kagoshima Chuo Station, Kyushu
©Japan Visitor
The Nippo Line runs via Miyakonojo, to Miyazaki by Kirishima Limited Express in 2 hours 12 minutes. The Hayato no Kaze Limited Express branches off on the Hisatsu Line and passes Kirishima Onsen on its way to Yoshimatsu in 1 hour 43 minutes.
Ibusuki-Makurazaki Line
The Ibusuki-Makurazaki Line runs from Kagoshima Chuo Station via Usuki, Ibusuki for Ibusuki Onsen and Shirasawa to Makurazaki on the Satsuma Peninsula. Journey time is 2 hours 30 minutes by regular train.
Three times a day a special tourist train with designer interiors and many unique features, the Ibusuki no Tamatebako, runs between Kagoshima-Chuo and the resort of Ibusuki in 50 minutes.
Kagoshima Trams
Kagoshima Station is also a stop for Kagoshima trams. The Dai-Niki-Line (第二期線) runs from Takamibaba to Kagoshima-Chuo-Ekimae and the Toso Line (唐湊線) operates from Kagoshima-Chuo-Ekimae to Korimoto.
Bus services from Kagoshima Chuo Station include the Kagoshima City View Bus and city buses to Tenmonkan, Kagoshima City Hall, Kagoshima City Aquarium (Io World Kagoshima Suizokukan), Ishiki Newtown, Murasakibaru and Heartpia Kagoshima. The airport limousine to Kagoshima Airport stops at Kagoshima Chuo and costs 1,250 yen.
Tram stop in front of JR Kagoshima-Chuo Station
©Japan Visitor
Bus Station in front of Kagoshima-Chuo Station for local, long distance, City View Loop, & Kagoshima Airport buses
©Japan Visitor
There are long distance highway buses to Fukuoka, Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Oita and Namba in Osaka (overnight, 12 hours). There are also more local buses to Ibusuki, Chiran and Ebino-kogen.
Taxis wait outside the main exit.
Outside Kagoshima Station is a monument to the 19 young men who broke a ban on leaving Japan and sailed to Britain in 1865 with the help of Thomas Blake Glover, a Scottish businessman based in Nagasaki.
Among them were Mori Arinori, later Minister of Education in the Meiji government, Hatakeyama Yoshinari, the first president of Tokyo University and the 13-year-old Nagasawa Kanae, who would later become a wine grower in the USA.
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