Gentle hills and volcano views outside Kagoshima

Kagoshima Garden Golf Club lies in Matsumoto, about 20 km from central Kagoshima and some 15 km from the Kagoshima interchange on the Kyushu Expressway. Opened in 1993 and laid out by Kajima Corporation, the 18-hole, par-72 course measures 6,723 yards across gently rolling hill country. Now part of the Accordia Golf group, it is an easygoing, visitor-friendly layout played from GPS-equipped riding carts, with bent greens and moderate elevation changes that keep the round flowing.

Relaxed, rolling golf with Sakurajima on the horizon, and Kirishima's peaks beyond.

The setting is the draw: on clear days players look out toward the smoking cone of Sakurajima and the Kirishima mountains. It fits neatly into a Kagoshima city stay, where you can ride the ferry to Sakurajima, wander the Sengan-en garden, and finish the day with black pork and shochu in Tenmonkan. The Kirishima hot-spring area is within a comfortable drive for an onsen night. There is no club bus, but a taxi from Satsuma-Matsumoto Station takes around ten minutes.