Sea kayak tours led by a famous guide to enjoying the rich nature of Sakurajima・Kinko Bay with awareness and discovery.

Kagoshima Kayaks is an official school of JSPA (Japan Safety Paddling Association). With Sakurajima and Kinko Bay as its base field, Kagoshima Kayaks offers sea kayaking tours in the sea of Kagoshima, which stretches 600 km from north to south as activities in cooperation with local and national governments, and a nature guide training program.

Mr. Naomi Nomoto, a certified geo-guide of the Sakurajima-Kinko Bay Geopark Promotion Council, leads the tour. He has been a professional tour guide for about 25 years and is an expertly professional guide with a youthfulness and vitality that belies his age of 64. Some of you may know him as an adventurer who has accumulated numerous experiences and achievements in nature fields in Japan and abroad.

Nowadays, Mr. Nomoto mainly guides sea kayakers based in the Sakurajima and Kinko Bay areas where he was born and raised. However, he says that in the past, he did not have any special feelings toward sea kayaking or local nature.

" I was born and raised in Kagoshima City on the opposite shore of Sakurajima, so the ocean of Kinko Bay was not a special place for me. It was a common place for me to play on the beach, fish, and do other things. Even after I grew up, I loved outdoor activities, but I did not have any special feelings toward the nature around me, such as Sakurajima and Kinko Bay.
I had been into bicycles since high school, so I enjoyed going on touring trips in Japan and abroad (lol)."

Mr. Nomoto was 40 years old when his outdoor master, Hyoichi Kono, recommended sea kayaking to him, which opened his eyes to the fascination of sea kayaking. Since then, he has repeatedly taken sea kayaking adventures abroad and in Japan. Through this experience, he says, he has developed a renewed awareness of local towns and nature.

On the recommendation of Mr. Kono, I decided on an adventure trip to the Bering Sea in Alaska on the same day I got on a sea kayak for the first time. In 1998, on my fourth sea kayaking trip, I paddled the local waters with floating ice floes. A year later, I completed a sea kayaking expedition from Juneau, Alaska, to Vancouver, Canada (lol). However, when I saw the town scenery in Seattle, which I entered in preparation for that trip, I had a strong impression that I had never had before.
Seattle is the biggest big city in Washington state in the USA. Despite this, nature, such as mountains, bays, forests, and green areas, are right around the corner. Such scenery overlapped with Kagoshima, where Sakurajima and Kinko Bay are adjacent to the city center. At the same time, I was strongly ashamed of how much I knew about the local town and nature, and thought, 'I want to know more about my hometown.'"

After his experience in Seattle, U.S.A., Mr. Nomoto began confronting the local town and nature. He quit his previous job as a company owner and started a new life as a nature guide after turning 40.
Mr. Nomoto is now facing his hometown, Sakurajima and Kinko Bay. What does he find attractive, characteristic, and wonderful about his hometown, Sakurajima and Kinko Bay?

"The attraction I found in Seattle was the city. Especially the proximity of the big city and the great nature. I think Kagoshima has the same environment. I don't think there is any other place where such a large city with a population of 600,000, the prefectural capital, still has such a great natural coastline. I think such mismatches and gaps are the individuality, characteristics, and charm of Kagoshima City, especially the Sakurajima and Kinko Bay area”.

In Mr. Nomoto's words, the proximity of nature to the metropolis is a major characteristic of the Sakurajima and Kinko Bay area. We often hear phrases such as "just a short distance from the city, there is a rich expanse of nature," but it is hard to imagine a place that is so close to nature without being a short distance away.

"Sakurajima, an active volcano you know, is responsible for nature and the island's coastline. It is an active volcano. It is not just a past story that "An eruption created it in the past" or "It still retains strong traces of volcanic activity, but It is a real active volcano that "erupts every day, sometimes violently, and scatters volcanic ash. It is amazing to have an active volcano so close to a major city ('lol'). It is no exaggeration to say that there is no other place as exciting and interesting as this. The richness of the ecosystem and vegetation that results from volcanic activity, including eruptions, and the ongoing changes in the natural environment because it is an active volcano make it truly unique."

Sakurajima・Kinko Bay, a nature field described as "exciting and interesting" by a veteran guide who is an adventurer with a great deal of experience in Japan and abroad. Mr. Nomoto says sea kayaking is the best way to learn about and experience this attraction in depth.

I have traveled in many different ways, both nationally and internationally. I've traveled all over the country and abroad in various ways, including biking, walking, sea kayaking, etc. I don't like to be obsessive about my travels. I don't want to be obsessive about my travels, and I think the best thing is to enjoy them, but the only thing I am obsessive about is traveling by "human power" not to burden the natural environment. In this context, I recommend sea kayaking tours as the best way to enjoy Sakurajima and Kinko Bay. For me, sea kayaking is like trekking on the sea. It is like walking slowly on the sea. That is my image of sea kayaking. You can get close to the untouched nature from the sea, and you will be able to see the true face of Sakurajima that you have never known before. The waves in Kinko Bay, an inland sea, are calm, so even beginners can enjoy sea kayaking to the fullest.

The standard sea kayak guided tours offered by Kagoshima Kayaks are a three-hour course and a one-day course. Of these, the 3-hour course is overwhelmingly popular and well supported, with two menus: "Hot spring in the sea Tours" and "Sakurajima Lava Field Tour."

The "Hot spring in the sea Tours" is an exploratory kayaking trip to hot springs that spring up under the sea along the coast of Sakurajima. As expected, it is impossible to bathe in the hot springs under the sea, but if you land on the shore and dig in the sand, you will find places where hot springs gush out, so you can enjoy making a footbath. You will be reminded that Sakurajima is a volcano, and you can experience the blessings of the volcano by soaking your feet in the hot spring water gushing from the beach.

The east coast of Sakurajima is dotted with lava fields that were solidified by the eruptions of "Bunmei-era," "Anei-era," "Taisho-era," and "Showa-era" eruptions. In the "Sakurajima Lava Field Tour," you will approach the lava field from the sea. Feel the magnificent energy of Sakurajima and enjoy the natural landscape created by the volcano. If weather conditions are favorable and you have enough time and energy, you can also aim to land on Kanze, an uninhabited island in Kinko Bay.

Some people may have a negative image of these standard package tours, believing they are uninteresting because the program proceeds according to a fixed schedule. For such people, the "Kagoshima Kayaks" tour is recommended.

"The tour guide's mission is to provide guests with the right knowledge, skills, and enjoyable programs while keeping their safety our top priority. However, these are the basic premises for us. The most important thing we want to provide is the guests' awareness and discovery. For this reason, in our tours, we offer a program prepared in advance and free time in which guests can do as much as they wish under the guide's watchful eye. We would be more than happy if you could notice or discover "something" about Sakurajima and Kinko Bay by yourself during that time."

Through his experiences in Japan and abroad, Mr. Nomoto has realized and discovered the wonder and charm of his hometown, Kagoshima, and its natural environment. That is why he wishes travelers to experience the same joy and excitement. He is spreading the joy of awareness and discovery while multitasking at a high level through guided tours on Sakurajima and Kinko Bay, expeditions in Japan and abroad, lectures, and training courses. Despite this, Mr. Nomoto seems to have no end to his tasks.

The water quality in Kinko Bay is much better than it used to be. On the other hand, plastic bottles, vinyl, and other plastic trash are floating on the beach… It is only natural that nature guides, who are in contact with nature, work there, and invite guests to join them, should be eco-conscious.
We have been conducting beach cleanups for more than 20 years as an activity that embodies this awareness. We are now preparing to add a "beach cleanup tour" to our menu next year to mark this 10-year milestone. Some may say, "You want the tour guests to clean trash? But I believe it is worthwhile to work together with our guests. I would like guests to discover not only the wonderful aspects of Sakurajima and Kinko Bay but also the realities of the current situation. I believe that this will unite the ecological awareness of the guides and guests and create a better natural environment.

The ecology activity of Sakurajima and Kinko Bay is "seidaku awase nonde koso."
(accepting not only the clean but also the dirty fairly).　This thoughtfulness is typical of Mr. Nomoto, a very experienced great guide.
He also spoke passionately about the challenges facing guides and his vision for the future.

The Corona disaster has made people more outdoor-oriented, and the existence and value of guides and their qualifications and systems are being reevaluated. Still, compared to global standards, Japan is undeniably lagging. However, we cannot make any progress simply by lamenting the current situation. .I believe it is important for us as guides to improve our qualifications while passing on the baton to the next generation. As I mentioned earlier, knowledge, skill, and safety are natural qualities for a guide. It is a matter, of course, to be equipped with these qualities, but we must also be able to demonstrate a high level of hospitality following the level and needs of each guest. There is no goal in this pursuit.

The "relentless pursuit of the qualities of a guide." This is the pure desire of Mr. Nomoto to make Sakurajima・Kinko Bay a sacred place for Responsible Tourism and to provide guests with more insights and discoveries.
If that is the case, what we travelers need to do is very simple. We should experience more awareness and discovery in the bosom of nature.