i didn't really feel like pork, which kagoshima is famous for, so i ordered a platter of sashimi. i especially liked the kibinago, a small, transparent fish that is part of the herring family and available year-round in kagoshima. the saba (mackerel) and modori-gatsuo (bonito that's returned south after a swimp up to hokkaido) were also amazingly fresh, and the chef told me that should be no surprise since everything was fished locally, just that morning. i noticed the soy sauce was very dark and sweet, kagoshima-style. i thought it might kill the flavor of the sashimi but it actually went quite well, making it taste a little sweeter and fatter.
because of all my oohing, aaahing and picture-taking, the chef wanted to know where i was from. i told him i'm from tokyo but originally from wakayama (which is more exciting), and when i called it the "sicily of japan" because of the mafia and high rate of crime and unemployment, he told me that kagoshima is definitely the "palermo of japan". and this is why:
from shiroyama hotel, an impressive view of kyushu's own vesuvio, the volcanic sakurajima island.
