Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [587]
Note that since Yakushima became a Unesco World Heritage Site, the Jōmon Sugi area has been besieged by visitors and those averse to crowds should visit outside the summer and Golden Week high seasons. Also note that you cannot drive a rental car to Arakawa-tozanguchi during the entire month of August (there are shuttle buses to/from Yakusugi Land, where you can park).
The granddaddy of hikes on Yakushima is the day-long outing to the 1935m summit of Miyanoura-dake, the highest point in southern Japan. Fit climbers should allow about seven hours return from Yodogawa-tozanguchi trailhead (1370m). Yodogawa-tozanguchi is about 1.5km (about 30 minutes) beyond the Kigen-sugi bus stop, which is served by two buses a day to/from Anbō (¥910, one hour). Note that the buses do not give you sufficient time to complete the round-trip in a day – an early-morning taxi from Miyanoura (around ¥10,000) will give you time to make the second bus back to Anbō.
Finally, it’s possible to make a traverse of Miyanoura-dake with a stop at Jōmon Sugi en route. Do not attempt this in a day; you’ll have to spend the night in one of the yama-goya above Jōmon Sugi. Typical routes are between Yodogawa and Arakawa or Yodogawa and Shiratani-unsuikyō. A full traverse of the island is described in Lonely Planet’s Hiking in Japan.
If you’re feeling a little less adventurous, consider a visit to Yaku-sugi Land (admission ¥300; 9am-5pm). The name screams tourist trap, but this forest preserve amid the island’s peaks is well worth a trip and it’s a great way to see some yaku-sugi without a long trek into the forest. It offers shorter hiking courses over wooden boardwalks, and longer treks deep into the ancient cedar forest. There are four walking courses here, the two shorter ones being mostly over boardwalks. There are four buses (¥720, 40 minutes) a day to/from Anbō.
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SEA TURTLES
Loggerhead sea turtles and green sea turtles come ashore on the beaches of Yakushima to lay their eggs. Unfortunately, human activity can significantly interfere with the egg-laying process. Thus we recommend that you keep the following rules in mind when visiting the beaches of Yakushima (particularly those on the northwest coast):
Never approach a sea turtle that has come ashore.
Do not start fires on the beach as the light will confuse the chicks (who use moonlight to orient themselves). Likewise, do not shine torches (flashlights) or car headlights at or near the beach.
Do not walk on the beach at night.
Be extremely careful when you walk on the beach, as you might inadvertently step on a newly hatched turtle.
If you want to observe the turtles, enquire at the Umigame-kan centre on Yakushima (below).
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Other Attractions
In Miyanoura, the Yakushima Environment Culture Village Center (42-2900; admission & film ¥500; 9am-5pm Tue-Sun Sep-Jun, 9am-5pm daily Jul & Aug) is at the corner of the ferry-terminal road. It has exhibits about the island’s natural environment and history, with limited English signage. It screens a large-format 25-minute film in Japanese hourly (even if you don’t understand Japanese, we highly recommend it).
On the northwest coast of the island in the village of Nagata is Nagata Inaka-hama, a beautiful stretch of yellow sand where sea turtles come to lay their eggs from May to July. It’s beside the Inaka-hama bus stop, which is served by Nagata-bound buses from Miyanoura. About midway along the beach, along the main road is the Umigame-kan (49-6550; admission ¥200; 9am-5pm, closed Tue), which has displays and information about the turtles (mostly in Japanese).
The Issō-kaisuiyokujō is another fine beach, located on the north