About Yakushima Island
Yakushima Island covers an area of approximately 504 square kilometers, and its shape is a complete lozenge. Yakushima is a mountainous island known for having the most rainfall in Japan, with a local saying “it rains 35 days a month”. Ecologically and morphologically, Yakushima encompasses some of the world’s most valuable natural woodlands and is home to endangered bird species.
The entire Yakushima mountain range is covered by rich forest vegetation, with cedar as the main tree species. Hayao Miyazaki’s animation “The Enchanted Princess” was set on Yakushima, and in recent years, the island has become popular for tourism, with well-known attractions such as the Shiratani Unsuikyo Gorge and the Chihiro Falls, and Japan’s southernmost high wetland landscape, which is situated on the Kohana-no-Eki and Hana-no-Eki Rivers on Yakushima. There are many hot springs on Yakushima Island, and there is also a special hot spring in the sea called Hiranouchi Uminonaka Hot Spring. Since Yakushima is densely forested and the high mountainous areas are protected from development, there are many wild animals, including Yakushima deer and Yakushima apes, which are common.
How to get there
Yakushima-cho, Kumage-gun, Kagoshima 891-4201 MAP
Take a boat from Kagoshima Port.
Tips
We enjoyed both the sea and the mountains in 3 days and 2 nights. We signed up for a full-day tour and went. We could not go to Jomon cedars because of rain, but instead we were guided around the island, went near a waterfall, and saw a group of monkeys and deer. We also saw a group of monkeys and deer, and even saw a small monkey. The guide told us a lot of trivia about the island and how it came to be, and I think it was an experience that we could not have had otherwise. We also went to the moss forest, and the way to the moss forest is the best part of the tour. I heard that you can see a lot of fireflies, so next time I would like to go at the right time of the year and do the night tour.
Website
https://www.yakushimatourism.com/
