Crossing by bridge from Sakurajima to the mainland, we drive to Fukuyama — the historic home of Kagoshima’s traditional kurozu (black vinegar). Here we visit a working brewery where thousands of earthen jars sit outdoors in neat rows, slowly fermenting under the southern sun in a method unchanged since the Edo period. We take a short tour of the jar fields, then settle in for a leisurely lunch overlooking Kinko Bay — a kurozu-based meal that showcases the region’s distinctive fermentation culture.



















