Sakurajima

About

Sakurajima (lit. 'Cherry Blossom Island') is an active stratovolcano, formerly an island and now a peninsula, in Kagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu, Japan. It is the most active volcano in Japan. As of November 2025, the volcanic activity continues, dropping volcanic ash on the surroundings. Earlier eruptions built the white sand highlands in the region. On 13 September 2016, a team of experts from Bristol University and the Sakurajima Volcano Research Centre in Japan suggested that the volcano could have a major eruption within 30 years; since then many eruptions have occurred. Sakurajima has a population of a few thousand residents, formerly incorporated as Sakurajima town, with a number of schools, shrines, and shops on the island. It is serviced by the Sakurajima Ferry which runs 24/7. It is a tourist destination known for its onsen, local pottery made from volcanic ash, and produce such as the Sakurajima daikon radish and Sakurajima komikan orange which grow in the immensely fertile volcanic soil. Sakurajima has many different natural areas due to its eruptive history and the ecosystems where recent eruptions have taken place have been researched as an example of ecological succession.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.