Japan, Day 6 (September 8): Yakushima Island

Overnight, the Resolution sailed out of the inland sea and south along Japan’s east coast.  We spent the morning at sea, leaving Japan’s mainland behind as we headed for Yakushima Island. A small, round island, it is very tall – with 45 peaks over 1000m, made of granite – formerly, a lava plug inside a much taller volcano.  It is one of the world’s wettest locations; the “annual precipitation in Yakushima is one of the world’s highest at 4,000 to 10,000 mm (160 to 390 in)” [Wikipedia], and its highest reaches are now a UNESCO world heritage site because it is covered in virgin forest.  Read on, to learn more about our hike on this greenest of green islands.

We took a hike through the Yakusugi forest at about 1000m elevation, on expertly constructed trails through a “primary forest, composed mainly of a variety of Cryptomeria japonica, or Japanese cedar, known as yakusugi” [Wikipedia]. Many of the oldest, biggest trees are individually named; we stopped to visit the Buddha Sugi. At 1,800 years old, its base is 8 meters in circumference, and it is 21.5m tall.

The trails wandered through the forest; although we followed some ‘natural’ paths – directly on soil, clambering over rocks and roots – most of the main trails were, essentially, boardwalks or stone cobbles. Given the steep slopes, the heavy visitation, and the incredibly wet climate, I’m sure it was necessary! We crossed on suspension bridges over a beautiful brook, several times, enjoying its cascades over huge granite boulders.  As we returned to the bus we caught a glimpse of a local resident – a red-bottomed macaque (Yakushima macaque) – but never encountered the reclusive sika deer (yakushika).

Back on board, our family received a special invitation for dinner with Captain Norling and about twenty other guests.  (Each guest was invited to one of these nightly dinners, at some point.)  The chef’s team had developed a fabulous multi-course dinner on the theme of “zero food waste”; for each course, the sous chef explained the ingredients and the methods of preparation. It was delicious! I’ll share more food photos in a wrap-up post at the end of the trip, but here is just a taste…

Be sure to check out the gallery for more photos of our hike and the island.

This post is part of a series about our Japan trip; the series starts here.