Kagoshima has been co-existing with and influenced by diversity of culture from surrounding countries and regions, like China, Korea and Southeast Asia for many years. Blessed with various and abundant beauty of natures under the mild climate, Kagoshima has very unique attractions to offer, such as Yakushima Island, which is registered as a world heritage site, Sakurajima volcano, greenly forests, hot springs, and other gifts from nature.

   Kagoshima engages to different kind of industry. Aside producing abundant food products on the land and in the water, the food processing businesses are also developing and taking an important role as a national food supplier. On the other hand, some high tech businesses have been gathering and growing rapidly with new technology around Kokubu and Hayato area. People in Kagoshima have kept their tropical open brightness, and always make outsiders feel welcome with their kind, friendly hospitality. For the new 21st century, Kagoshima prefect government has proposes "The 21st century - New Kagoshima project" in January 2001, which will be the core for prefect politics for their future.

   As for this plan, based on their basic philosophy "Kagoshima – peoples´ generous and full of vitality with integrated society network". There are three goals for the targeted plans. "Kagoshima – hands to hands work together for our peaceful, healthy and comfortable living life." "Kagoshima – make industry area which creativity are riches with numbers of useful network." "Kagoshima – attractive and convenient hub point in southern part of Japan, connected to our extending transportation system."

History
Life marks of Ancient people can be seen all over Kagoshima. The pit dwellings site in around the year 7,500 B.C. were discovered at Uenohara, Kokubu City by recent excavation research, and it was discovered that in those days human beings already had made a village and settled down in Kagoshima.

   Ruins of Yayoi Culture, which had been mainly farming rice crop in around the year 200 B.C. through the year 200 A.D., are found everywhere in Kagoshima. However, the development of rice crop was delayed in the prefecture where it had many loam plateaus.Japan had been unified into Yamato Imperial Court from the second half of the third century to the beginning of the fourth century. Moreover, southern part of Kyushu was under the rule of Yamato Imperial Court in the second half of the fourth century.

   Bounotsu located in southwestern of Satsuma Peninsula, had prosperous and became the main port of marine traffic, after Japanese envoy to China during the Tang Dynasty had started in the seventh century.

   At the end of twelfth century, Minamoto-no-Yoritomo established samurai's administration, and they ruled Japan instead of the nobles. The Shimazu family extended influences little by little since then, and they soon rule almost the same area as present Kagoshima in the second half of the sixteenth century.

   Kagoshima is the southern gateway to Japan, therefore trade with China, Korea, Ryukyu and southern countries has been flourishing for many years, and western culture was introduced during the sixteenth century. The first gun had been brought into Japan when the Portuguese who rode on the Chinese ship had drifted ashore on Tanegashima Island about 1543. Saint Francis Xavier, the Jesuit missionary, had come to Kagoshima and introduced Christianity to Japan.

   Kagoshima had concentrated enthusiasm on positively adopting western culture under the leadership of lord of Satsuma clan when Japan's isolation system had collapsed in the second half of the nineteenth century. Building reverberatory furnace and machine shops of every kind, sending young men to England for studying are some examples.

   In this way, Kagoshima became powerful and had strong influence over Japan, which results in the overthrow of old government and establish new one. New Japanese government of Meiji had changed old society, and had pressed on making modern unified nation. Able people in Kagoshima such like Takamori Saigoh and Toshimichi Okubo had fulfilled their responsible role in this government. Kagoshima has produced many talented people, such as politicians, including the Prime Minister of Kiyotaka Kuroda, Masayoshi Matsukata, Gonbei Yamamoto and others, and a military man of Heihachiro Togoh and others, cultured men of Kiyoteru Kuroda (a painter) and others.

Culture
   Kagoshima has made use of geographical condition that is located on the south. It has historically trade with various countries of Asia Pacific area. Presently, there are about 2,300 designated cultural assets inside the prefecture everywhere, which have been cultivated in the tradition of Kagoshima and the history.

   Kagoshima has promoted preservation of traditional and historical cultural assets based on Kagoshima Prefectural Museum of Culture, "Reimei-kan" Kagoshima Prefectural Buried Cultural Assets Center and other facilities.

   In May 1997, such as the pit dwelling site (the site of house which dug the ground and thatched roof on it), the pebble cluster (the kitchen that may be inferred to have collected and burned stone, to have heated meat, etc. in it.), and the doubble pit (the facility that may be inferred to have hung meat etc. in the hole, to have smoked those) about 9,500 years ago (the beginning of the early period of the Jommon era) were discovered at the ruins of Uenohara in Kokubu City, Kagoshima.
The ruins of Uenohara was designated, to the national historical site in January 1999, as valuable ruins which told on the dawn of the Jomon culture, when it found that was permanent village of oldest and biggest scope in Japan.

   The historical site was buried back for preservation, but the pit dwelling, the pebble cluster and the double pit have been restored nearby and opened freely to the public. Moreover, the ancient life experience is carried out such as cooking of Jomon period and making earthenware on the fourth Saturday of every month while the ruins and the artifacts from excavations have been introduced at the exhibition facilities.

   Besides, "Uenohara Jomon-no-Mori" opened in October, 2002. The site is regarded as a place of learning, touching, getting to know, and facing to the world of Jomon is a facility which had the foothold function for research, experience, exchange, and study etc especially on the southern Jomon Culture.

Symbol: Mt. Sakurajima
One of the world's most famous active volcanoes, Mt. Sakurajima, stands majestically across Kagoshima Bay from the city. As the symbol of the city, it is a popular tourist destination.

   Occasionally the volcano erupts, sending plumes of ash and smoke two or three kilometers up into the sky, to the amazement of visitors. Mt. Sakurajima has erupted many times in recorded history, but it is renowned for the great eruption of 1914. It is estimated that about three billion tons of lava poured down the volcano, burying a nearby village and filling the 400 to 500 meter wide strait that then separated the island of Sakurajima from the Osumi Peninsula. The lava fields, that can be visited, have an appearance more befitting the moon than the earth.

   Sakurajima is also known for the world's largest radishes and the Japan's smallest mandarin oranges. Ferries, which leave every 15 minutes round the clock, connect Kagoshima City to Sakurajima. Kagoshima is probably the on]y city of about 550.000 inhabitants in the world, which lies so close to an active volcano.