Do you feel at home in a misty, subtropical forest protected by spirits? If yes, then Yakushima Island is the perfect travel destination for you.
Hiking trails? Check. Sandy beaches? Check? Diverse vegetation, yes! Yakushima has it all. Yakushima Island is a small subtropical island off the coast of Kagoshima, Kyushu in Japan. On the island you can find many ancient cedar trees; some of them around 7000 years old though you’ll probably agree with me that a thousand years old is already a pretty respectable age for a cedar tree.
Most of the island is covered by cedar forests and pretty much every single tree is covered by moss. Unless you climb one of the mountains (up to 2000 meters) to escape the moss… then you can see as far as the cities on the coast on clear days (and a vague apparition on less clear days).
Yakushima is probably best known from the anime Princess Mononoke, featuring the small Kodama, also known as forest spirits, and some very misty forests. The island receives a lot of rainfall throughout the year but if that is what it takes to make it this beautiful, then keep it coming.
>> Explore the south of Japan in two weeks with my Kyushu and Yakushima Island travel itinerary.
Practical information
How to get to Yakushima Island
You can get to Yakushima by plane or by ferry. Swimming is not the way to go. The closest airport and ferry terminal are in Kagoshima on Kyushu. The ferry trip from Kagoshima takes a bit less than two hours and has six sailings a day. Return tickets are 15,000 Yen.
You can buy your ticket at the Kagoshima ferry terminal on the same day or book in advance online. When booking online you can use the translate function in Chrome to fill in the forms as the website is Japanese only; it worked well enough for me. For Yakushima you can choose between Miyanoura port or Anbo port.
I do recommend booking in advance either online or at the ferry terminal: there were many seats available a few hours before our ride to Yakushima, but there were almost no seats free when we departed. On our way back from Yakushima, a group of students was on the same ferry as us and we wouldn’t have been able to buy tickets on the same day.
How to get around on Yakushima Island
You can get around by using public transport, but it is just not very convenient if you want to stop a lot along the way to take pictures or visit more remote areas.
I recommend hiring a car. Driving is easy as there are no big (crowded) cities on Yakushima. The route around the island is easy to navigate and there are plenty of parking spots available everywhere. The only more challenging part is that some areas have very narrow roads only suitable for one car at a time, for example when driving to Yakusugi or the UNESCO World Heritage trail on the western side of the island. But as there aren’t that many people on the road you only have to give way every now and then.
We used Orix to rent a car and I can recommend them. Their store is only a few minutes’ drive from the Miyanoura ferry terminal and they pick you up and drop you off at the ferry terminal if you communicate your arrival time. I also used this opportunity to rent this small rectangle-shaped compact car looking like a lego block: on my previous trip to Japan I saw them so much that I simply wanted to drive in one.
Also keep in mind that you have to drive on the left side of the road, so that can take some getting used to if you drive on the right side in your country.
Where to stay
I chose to stay at Tashiro Annex in Miyanoura because you can get there quickly from the ferry. From there it is only a 20 minutes drive to the trails in Shiratani Unsuikyo so you can do a trail on the day you arrive. The hotel offers Japanese and Western rooms and has hot spring baths for men and women. Laundry facilities are also present (very useful if you go hiking). You can eat dinner at the hotel if you make a reservation the day before and enjoy a multi-course dinner or walk into town to eat at one of the many restaurants. Breakfast is good but not too heavy as you can see in the picture above.
You can easily park your car at the parking lot opposite the hotel or use the free shuttle service from Miyanoura ferry. The hotel doesn’t look as good in real life as on the pictures but the rooms were clean and the hotel had all the facilities I was looking for, so I would probably stay here again if I return to do the Jomonsugi trail.
To search for the best hotels on Yakushima Island, click here.
Finishing up with some food recommendations
Flying mackerel at 恵比寿大黒とし restaurant.
Kamenote (Japanese Goose Barnacle) looking like turtle hands at 若大将 restaurant.
Yakushima in three days
You can find all sights mentioned below on my Yakushima Island map.
Day 1 - hiking in Shiratani Unsuikyo
After arriving on Yakushima, picking up your rental car and checking in to your hotel you can head to Shiratani Unsuikyo for a long (4 hour) or a short (1 hour) hike in the mysterious and misty forest called Shiratani Unsuikyo.
Shiratani Unsuikyo is a natural recreation forest that receives a lot of rain every year (what’s new). It is best known for its very old but also 1000 years young cedar trees. This area was used as inspiration for the movie Princess Mononoke. When I visited I was very lucky that it was misty and the area looked exactly like in the movie. Somehow rain and mist suits this area. On the downside: the trail got a bit slippery and because of heavy rainfall and typhoons a week before my visit I could only do the part of the trail that goes to the three thousand-year-old cedar tree (the red 1.2 km Yayoi Sugi trail taking 50 minutes) as the river crossing for the longer trails was flooded. So do check the weather circumstances before your visit to see if the trails are open. If you’re visiting at a better moment I recommend the longer 4-hour trail to Taikoiwa Rock.
The paths are easy and well maintained but do wear good hiking shoes as they can get slippery in the rain. There is only a little climbing involved. The flora is very diverse with especially the moss drawing attention. Entrance to the park is 500 Yen per person.
Return to Miyanoura and enjoy a meal in a nice restaurant and relax in the hot spring bath in your hotel.
Alternatively you can start the 10 hour Jomonsugi trail, the most iconic trail on the island and finish it the next day after spending a night in the mountains.
Day 2: Island roadtrip
Morning tea
If you like tea, then the teashop (有)屋久島八万寿茶園 is a good place to visit. They sell many types of tea grown on Yakushima Island, ranging from powdered green tea to full leaf green tea and fermented twigs tea. You can try some of them before buying.
Opening hours: 8:30 – 17:00
Drug Store MORI
Drug Store MORI is the best drug and snack store on the island. If you’re into Japanese cosmetics, then this is a good place to visit as the prices are pretty much the same or sometimes cheaper (when on sale) than on the mainland.
Opening hours: 09:00 – 22:00
Yakushima cedarwood
You’ll come across many souvenir shops selling woodcraft using Yakushima’s cedarwood. The big pieces are beautiful to watch, though not practical as a souvenir. I found a small handcrafted Kodama, one of the forest spirits from the Princess Mononoke movie, to bring home. It is now living in my not so wooden house.
Most shops on the island are open between 9:00 and 18:00.
Tashiro Coast
This rocky coast formed by lava was one of my favorite spots on Yakushima Island. The colors of the rocks ranged from yellow to red framed by green moss; the colors were simply beautiful under a gray (thunderous) sky. Seawater was being pushed into the air and the vegetation was unlike anywhere else. This is not a beach, only a rocky coast, but the mix of rocks, colors, vegetation and weather simply made the landscape beautiful.
You can park on the side of the road winding down to the coast. I parked before the ‘no cars allowed’ sign (for the preservation of the area) in a bend in the road and walked the rest of the way down. To me the walk down was part of the experience: you’re surrounded by a forest of low trees snaking around you until it suddenly ends and you can either go right to walk on the rocks or go left to observe the rocks from a stony beach. Some Japanese tourists drove all the way down to the coast and parked there. It is up to you.
Senpirono Falls
South of Anbo you can visit Senpiro-no-Taki waterfall. It is a very big waterfall with water flowing from granite cliffs surrounded by forest. You can park your car very close to the waterfall.
Hot spring with a view
Hirauchi Kaichu Onsen is an outdoor onsen with mixed-gender hot spring baths right next to the ocean. You can only visit this onsen at low tide.
UNESCO monkey forest path
Seibu Rindo Forest Path is a beautiful coastal road that passes to a UNESCO protected forest on the west coast of Yakushima in the Nagata area. Along the path, you can often spot monkeys and deer (though you can also find them in Yakusugi land). The path is often only wide enough for one car, so drive carefully.
White sandy beach at sunset
Inakahama Beach sea turtle beach
Another white sand beach that is used by sea turtles as a nesting place from May to July.
Small waterfall cafe
Have a drink at the cafe near the very small waterfall 布引の滝. I’m always convinced there is a good reason for a place to be marked on Google Maps, but let’s face it: the homemade ginger ale and cake at the cafe nearby were the highlight of this waterfall stop.
Pirate harbor Isso
Well technically it is just a harbor but it reminded me both of a pirate harbor (outside of the Carribean) and of the Lofoten in Norway. On the west side of the harbor, you can take a good picture near the Shinto Altar. Isso is better known for its sandy beach but for me, it is about the harbor view.
Above I have only highlighted the stops that impressed me the most. Of course, there are many more things to see and stops to make but they’re easy to spot while driving. I challenge you not to stop every five minutes to take a picture.
Day 3: Mount Tachu hike
The hike to Tachudake at 1497m has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Hike. It takes about 6 hours to do a return trip (with minimal resting). With this hike, you combine the forest of Yakusugi Land with its mosses, ferns and evergreens with an alpine landscape. You start off in the forest until you reach the side track to Tenmon no Mori. After this, the relaxing forest walk is over and you start climbing.
You can easily do this trail on your own; it is well marked and not challenging (coming from someone who only does one or two of such trails a year). There are a few spots where you have to use a rope to climb some rocks, also to reach the viewpoint at the end, but they are easy.
It is quite a steep climb for a while and I saw some groups turning back when reaching the big boulder. But it is a pity to give up before reaching the end of the forest because you only have a view of the island from the top. On clear days (but also on less clear days) you can see all the way to the coastal cities while celebrating your success on top of the big rock. If you want to successfully blend into society: cook your instant noodles on top of the mountain.
Bring enough water for the first part of your trail. You can refill your bottles at the stream about halfway to two thirds to the top and at the same spot on your way back.
To start your trail, park your car at the Yakusugi Land parking lot and enter the trail. Halfway the 150-minute course you see the signs for the route to Tachudake. After visiting the top you return to that same sign and get back on the 150-minute course.
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Explore the south of Japan in two weeks with my Kyushu and Yakushima Island travel itinerary.
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