Yakushima

Kyushu, Japan · Remote island, Mountain

A granite island where, as the local line goes, it rains thirty-five days a month, and the rain is the point: it is what keeps the moss. Reaching the Jomon Sugi cedar means a twenty-two-kilometre walk of nearly ten hours, much of it along the rails of an old forestry railway. Felling yakusugi is banned, so the woodwork sold here comes from stumps left behind by the old logging, and the Hirauchi bath, cut into the coastal rock, only exists at low tide.

The essentials

Getting there

Ferry or plane — Ferry or flight from Kagoshima

Frequently asked questions about Yakushima

What to do in Yakushima: 27 activities

• Trail to the Jomon Sugi cedar 6 h must-see

  A full-day hike to one of the oldest cedar trees in the world. It is nine to ten hours there and back and twenty-two kilometres, a good part of it along old forestry railway tracks. From March to the end of November private cars cannot use the Arakawa forest road: the only way in is the five in the morning bus, with no reservation, first come first served and cash only, with the conservation fee included in the fare. The timetable of the last bus back is the real limit for returning. Submitting the mountain registration form is compulsory, and the two-piece rain suit, the warm clothing and the portable toilet kit are not optional: all waste leaves the mountain with you.

• A plan for a rainy day 7 h

  It rains, as the local saying goes, 35 days a month, and the rain is part of the appeal: the moss and the waterfalls are at their best. A proven combination: the yakusugi museum, a distillery, a woodwork studio, Ohko waterfall in spate and a hot onsen at the end. Warning: in heavy rain the Arakawa track and the mountain routes can close without notice, and a waterfall in spate is never forded.

• Community baths of Onoaida, Yudomari and Kusugawa 1 h

  Onoaida is sulphurous and comes out at almost 50 degrees, genuinely scalding, and is the favourite of hikers coming down from Mocchomu-dake. Yudomari is by the sea like the Hirauchi bath but is reachable 24 hours a day at any tide, and swimsuits are banned there. Kusugawa is alkaline and has been in use since the late 16th century. In all three you undress in front of the neighbours and there is no soap.

• Miyanoura-dake, the roof of Kyushu 11 h booking

  1,936 metres: the highest peak in Kyushu and in all of Japan south of Honshu. The classic route from Yodogawa is 13 kilometres across the Hananoego wetland and ridges of eroded granite, with a hut to split it over two days. The Ministry of the Environment rates it at the top difficulty level: experienced mountaineers only.

• Shiratani Unsuikyo Forest 3 h

  A moss-covered forest that inspired scenery in 'Princess Mononoke'. An important qualification: Miyazaki and his team visited this forest while researching Princess Mononoke and it was one of their visual references, but the film is not set here; it is set in Muromachi-period Japan, on Honshu. Calling it 'the Mononoke forest' is local marketing. The short route to the moss forest takes three hours and the long one, up to the Taiko Rock viewpoint, about six. It has its own access fee.

• Takemairi, the pilgrimage to the sacred mountain 8 h booking

  This is Yakushima's living religious practice: each village is assigned its own sacred mountain and sends representatives up to a small altar on the summit to bring sake and flowers and carry back water and sand for the village shrine. Its trails are counted among the 120 historic mountain paths of Japan. Here the mountain is not scenery: it is the god.

• Tobiuo and kubiore-saba 1.5 h booking

  The flying fish is the island's culinary emblem: fried whole with its wings spread, made into fish cake and even curry. The 'broken-neck mackerel' is killed instantly by bending its neck to bleed it, which allows it to be eaten raw with a texture not found on the mainland. Add the tankan and ponkan citrus, from January to April.

• Watching turtles nest, by reservation 3 h booking only 1 May - 20 Jul

  Nagata Inakahama is the largest loggerhead nesting site in the North Pacific. From 1 May to 30 September entering the beach at night is prohibited, and between May and 20 July the only legal way to see them is the conservation committee tour: 50 people per night maximum, booked in advance. From 21 July to 30 September, during hatching, the beach is closed at night entirely.

• Western forest road 2 h

  It crosses the only stretch of the World Heritage area that reaches down to the sea. Single lane, no verges, closed to large buses and passable only between 7 in the morning and 5 in the afternoon to protect the wildlife: the odds of meeting macaques and dwarf deer sitting on the asphalt are very high. Drive very slowly, and do not get out of the car or feed them.

• Yakusugi craft workshop 1.5 h booking

  You turn chopsticks, coasters or small boxes. The fact that explains everything: felling yakusugi has been banned since 2001, and everything sold comes from stumps and trunks abandoned by the Edo and Showa loggings, preserved on the forest floor by their very high resin content. It is the only legal way to take yakusugi home: collecting wood, branches or moss from the forest is prohibited.

• Yakusugi Land 3 h

  A forest park with circular trails of varying lengths through thousand-year-old cedars and suspension bridges over the Anbo River.

• Yakusugi Museum 1.25 h

  Five minutes from Anbo port. It explains the ecology, history and timber industry of the cedars: why they were felled for centuries to make roof shingles and why that stopped. It is the best preparation before walking to Jomon Sugi, and it stops you reaching the tree without understanding what you are looking at.

• Dinner in Miyanoura or Anbo 2 h booking

  Let us be honest: the island goes to bed early and many kitchens close at half past eight. The scene comes down to a handful of fish and shochu izakaya, which are excellent and full of mountain guides. In high season you have to book dinner in the morning.

• Diving on the east and north coasts 5 h booking

  The island sits in the Kuroshio current: coral, green turtles and lobsters with visibility beyond 20 metres. There are centres offering try-dives for beginners in Isso and Miyanoura.

• Environmental Culture Village Center 1 h

  Five minutes on foot from Miyanoura port, with a 14-metre screen projecting the island from sea to summit. It also runs its own stargazing sessions and is an excellent rainy-day plan.

• Guided forest bathing (shinrin-yoku) in the cedar forest 3.5 h booking

  A guided forest-bathing program in Yakushima's ancient cedar forest (a UNESCO World Heritage site), different from a simple hike — focused on disconnecting and unwinding, not on covering distance.

• Hirauchi Kaichu Onsen 1 h

  A natural hot spring bath carved into the coastal rocks, visible and accessible only at low tide.

• Nagata Inaka-hama sea turtle nesting beach 2 h booking

  The largest loggerhead nesting beach in the North Pacific, and by day a pale sand beach facing west, good at sunset. The turtles nest at night and the beach is closed then: there is exactly one legal way to see them, by reservation and with a quota, which is the other entry for this destination. By day there are no turtles, and walking on the sand where the nests are is precisely what you are asked to avoid.

• Ohko-no-taki Waterfall 1 h

  One of Japan's largest waterfalls, and easy to access.

• Sacred Mountain Festival 4.5 h only the first weekend of August

  The island's biggest summer festival, at Miyanoura port in early August: rituals lighting the fire of the mountain and of the sea, drums and fireworks on the second night. It is run explicitly to keep the tradition of mountain worship alive.

• Senpiro-no-taki Waterfall 1 h

  One of the island's tallest waterfalls, with an easily accessible viewpoint.

• Shitoko banyan park 0.5 h

  A grove of strangler figs beside the southern coast road, with aerial roots forming caves you can walk through. Five minutes by car and half an hour of astonishment, and it works perfectly in the rain.

• Snorkeling with sea turtles in Isso 2.5 h booking

  A guided snorkeling trip off the coast of Isso to swim alongside sea turtles in their reef habitat.

• Starry skies and bioluminescent mushrooms 1.5 h booking

  Outside Miyanoura and Anbo there is almost no light pollution, and the western beaches give exceptional skies. Guided night outings combine stars with bioluminescent mushrooms in the rainy season and summer. It all depends on the weather: the island is cloudy many nights.

• Yakushima sweet potato shochu 1.5 h

  Three island brands, distilled with the ultra-soft water of the granite, which gives them a notably smooth character. One of the Anbo distilleries can be visited and sells a shochu exclusive to the island; it is drunk with hot water in the izakaya.

• Kayaking on the Anbo River 2.5 h booking

  A guided kayak paddle down the Anbo River through subtropical forest, suitable for beginners.

• Yakushima Fruit Garden 1 h

  A private subtropical garden in the south with hundreds of fruit tree species and a tasting of juices and fruit at the end of the route. It works well with children and on a grey day.

What only happens on specific dates

• Watching turtles nest, by reservation 1 May - 20 Jul
• Sacred Mountain Festival the first weekend of August

Ready-made routes through Yakushima

Chains well with

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