A Memoir of a 'Do-Nothing' Trip to Akune

At the end of the year, I took a 3-day, 2-night trip to Akune City, Kagoshima Prefecture, while visiting my parents' home.

I traveled there from my parents' house in Kagoshima City with my mother driving, and on the way back, I took the Hisatsu Orange Railway alone to return to my parents' house.

I would like to write this as a memoir of that trip, including things I ate, things I saw, and things I enjoyed.

Access and the Journey

Going (by car)

I went to Akune City from my parents' house with my mother driving.

My mother loves driving, so we go on long trips sometimes, but Akune is pretty far!!
……That was my memory of it, but looking it up again now, it was only about an hour and a half one way.

It was a fun drive with roadside stations and beautiful ocean views along the way.

When we ran out of music on the way, we played free background music and felt like we were in a vlog.

Returning (by train)

I took the train back to Kagoshima City.
I boarded at Akune Station, transferred at Sendai Station, and headed to Kagoshima-Chuo.
It was about a two-hour trip.

I've heard of the 'Hisatsu Orange Railway' often, but I had never ridden it before.

Akune Station is chic and retro, with cafe-like tables and chairs throughout the station building, and plenty of books available for free browsing.

Local kids were gathering with friends, having quiet chats with cups from the vending machine in hand.
(The everyday life of a travel destination is so nice)

I bought my ticket at the manned window using PayPay.

I boarded the small train, and once it departed, the scenery flowing past the window was absolutely wonderful. Not just the ocean, but the sight of each station, which offered a glimpse into the peaceful local life, was also lovely.

A station where not a single person boarded, the sight of magnificent citrus fruits growing on trees planted on a roofless platform—it looked like an illustration. A thick-painted one.

Accommodation (Great value! Cute!)

I stayed at a hostel for two nights.
Or rather, this hostel was 80% of the purpose of the trip.

It's a unique building with a cafe and shop on the first floor, a factory on the second, and a hostel on the third.

Clean! Cute! Delicious! Great value!
Two nights with a wonderful breakfast for 10,000 yen!
Thanks to that, I had a great stay in Akune.

Since it's a hostel, it's not a completely private room, and the ceiling is open by about 1 meter.
The room was more spacious than I imagined, the blankets were smooth and warm, and there was even an air purifier!
The door to the private room was a bit small, giving it a secret base feel.

It served as my hideout for two nights.

There were two shower rooms and one bathroom that felt like a house, complete with a bathtub.
The provided shampoo, conditioner, and body soap were stylish items like those you'd find in a boutique, and I felt like I was able to wash myself with extra care.

I was also very, very grateful that I could use the washer and dryer for 100 yen per use.

Food

Drive-in Shiosai, a restaurant typical of a port town

Akune is a port town, so the fish must be delicious!
With that in mind, and as a thank you to my mother for driving, we headed to 'Drive-in Shiosai' on our way there.

I don't usually go into restaurants alone, and with the momentum of wanting to treat my mother, I ended up ordering a luxurious set meal, plus a side of grilled fish and fried oysters.
Everything was really, really, really delicious!!!

Not only was it infused with the warm, local flavor, but the view was also the best!
It was a wonderful winter lunch, eating delicious fish while watching the boats return from fishing.

Hostel Breakfast

The hostel breakfast, which was one of the purposes of my trip.
It's a special breakfast offered only to guests.

The happiness of being able to eat a warm set meal as soon as I wake up in the morning.
A gentle miso soup with nameko mushrooms, carefully prepared delicious satsuma-age, umami-packed urume sardines, and hearty large sardines...

The menu was the same for both days, but it was so, so delicious that I was actually grateful it was the same both mornings—it was the perfect breakfast.

Taiyaki at the hostel cafe

There are several cafes in Akune, and I had my eye on a few of them, but...
As it was the end of the year, they were all closed! What a shame!

However, the cafe on the first floor of the hostel was open.
This cafe is open to non-guests as well, and I occasionally saw locals using it for takeout.

This cafe, being in a port town, pushes taiyaki!
They are carefully made taiyaki with crispy edges, crafted from rice flour.

I spent two days in a row relaxing in the atmosphere of a peaceful cafe, enjoying delicious taiyaki and warm drinks.

The tableware also felt substantial and carefully chosen, allowing me to have a wonderful time.

A deserted beach (Kobama Beach)

We went to 'Kobama Beach,' which my mother said she had visited a long time ago.
This beach is actually on Nagashima, which is connected to the mainland by a bridge, rather than in Akune itself.

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Nagashima is peaceful, but the roads and the fields near the houses were all beautifully maintained, and as we drove, my mother and I talked about how amazing it was that there wasn't a single place overgrown with weeds.

We arrived at the beach about ten minutes after entering Nagashima by car. Since it was midwinter, there were zero other visitors besides us!
The benches and lawn were well-maintained, the seawater was a beautiful blue, and we were able to soak up the sea air and sounds to our heart's content.

If the temperature were a little more comfortable, I could imagine laying out a picnic blanket and reading until sunset.

A 'do-nothing' trip

That concludes my 3-day, 2-night trip to Akune.

Other places I went included Taiyo (a supermarket frequented by Kagoshima locals) to pick up dinner, a 100-yen shop to buy earplugs, and a Matsukiyo and convenience store to buy daily necessities.

Akune doesn't have any flashy tourist spots in the surrounding area, but you can experience life in a peaceful port town.

It was even quieter because I visited at the end of the year, but it seems that more cafes and shops are usually open.

An Akune trip where you can find small joys in a peaceful and calm setting.
It was a port town I would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys traveling like they are living there, or taking a 'do-nothing' trip.