What is left of Kagoshima Castle is the stone foundation, a wide lotus-filled moat, and a reconstructed wooden gate. The Shimazu lords built it in 1601 on flat land at the foot of Shiroyama — unusually for the period, with no hilltop keep — relying instead on the Satsuma's network of branch castles to defend the domain. The buildings burned in 1874 and the moat ran red with blood three years later during the Satsuma Rebellion; you can still see bullet marks in the gate stones.
The grounds now hold the Reimeikan museum and the Kagoshima City Museum of Art, and the park is a popular cherry-blossom spot in early April. A statue of Saigo Takamori in his army uniform looks down from across the road.