It turned out to be really good fun climbing the volcano. We were a little disappointed at first by the crowds around tacky tourist shops near the cable car station and the unsightly concrete bunkers next to the crater, but as soon as we started climbing further up we left all that behind and entered a mysterious and smelly world of clouds and brightly coloured rocks. It seems the Japanese, while they clearly venerate their natural heritage, prefer not to have to exert themselves in its appreciation. This meant that we had the steep and sweaty climb around the caldera to ourselves as we coughed and wheezed due the sulfurous clouds that swept all around. The views back down over the crater were well worth it. The pristine white clouds billowing from the active crater mixed with the slightly darker clouds beyond and, depending on the direction of the wind, changed the visibility from a few feet to miles within the space of a moment. The lovely green hills beyond made for a great backdrop. We managed to catch the train we were aiming for and spent the night down in Kagoshima ready to catch the ferry the next morning to Yakushima...