Getting closer to Kagoshima port. As I look down into the sea just below me, I see that the water is swarming with 2 kinds of jellyfish. I've never seen anything like it - there are litterally thousands of these saucer-size invertabrates floating around just below the water surface. One variety is orange with long stringy tentacles. The other species is whitish with a more defined flat disc shape. It shows no visible tentacles from up here.





The Coral Queen 8 is now really close to the port, and this magnificent volcano.












I can't get over it! This is just SO AWESOME!











Imaoka san enjoying the views too. Oddly, he reminds me a bit of Paul Newman and James Dean. He's quite a cool cat I think. He sure does love his BEER. The man is never without a can of brewsky!

I'm now on the super fast Cosmo Line Jet Rocket hydrofoil. The ride is really smooth and the interior unexpectedly luxurious. The seats are plush and leg room spacious. There is a big screen TV showing educational programs about various places in Japan. Needles to say, the clientel aboard this craft are vastly different from those on all the other ferries I've travelled on thus far on my journey. The folks aboard this ship appear to be predominantly well-to-do elderly with tour groups. I'm the youngest, scruffiest passenger on board. All the previous ferries were full of bohemian-style young men. THere was a school of dolphins jumping along the ferry just as we left thd port


The ferry's exhaust stacks mimic the distant volcano.