The Reimeikan stands inside the moat of the old Tsurumaru (Kagoshima) Castle and serves as the main history and folk museum of Kagoshima Prefecture. It is broader in scope than the Museum of the Meiji Restoration down the road: archaeology, the Shimazu clan's seven-century rule, religious life, and a striking gallery on the Ryukyu islands and the prefecture's deep ties to them.
The full-scale recreation of an Edo-period Satsuma street, complete with sound and smells, is the highlight for children. The castle stone walls and lotus moat outside the museum are open as a public park and are worth a slow walk on the way to Shiroyama. Closed Mondays.