Yamagawa Port

Yamagawa Port sits at the mouth of Kinkowan Bay, its calm waters sheltered by sand ridges formed from a prehistoric submarine volcanic eruption. This is where Francis Xavier is believed to have first landed when he brought Christianity to Japan in 1549. It is also where Maeda Riemon introduced the sweet potato to Japan in 1705, a crop that became central to Kagoshima's identity. Because the port's outline resembles a crane's beak, it was known through the Edo period as the 'crane port.' The working harbor remains active today and also serves as an evacuation point when typhoons approach the region.