Moving around Yakushima 2016
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| Rental Car |
Most tourists choose to rent a car for convenience and there are many car rental outlets on the island – mostly near the airport and ports.
I have been around many of the local rental companies in Yakushima and the few that seemed foreigner friendly were Suzuki Rentals who have an information sheet in English.
Remember that any of the English speaking accommodation options on my accommodation page will either have cars to rent or can help you rent one.
Here’s a list of local and national rental companies:
Carrentalgroup.com (English website)
Europcar (English website)
Toyota Rentals (English website)
Times Car rental (English website)
Nippon Rentacar (English website)
The Youth Hostel in Hirauchi and many other accommodation options also rent cars.
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| Bus |
The bus schedule is here: https://www.yakumonkey.com/2012/05/new-yakushima-bus-timetables-2012.html
Also here is a map and details of the Free Pass:
| Adult | Child | |
| 1 day | 2,000円 | 1,000円 |
| 2 days | 3,000円 | 1,500円 |
| 3 days | 3,000円 | 1,500円 |
| 4 days | 4,000円 | 2,000円 |
And here is a chart of the bus prices for those routes (in yen):
| Miyanoura – Yakusugiland – Kigen sugi (Yodogawa mountain trail) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miyanoura port | |||||||
| Miya- noura | 130 | ||||||
| Airport | 490 | 510 | |||||
| Prefecture hall (Anbo) | 380 | 760 | 780 | ||||
| Anbo | 130 | 410 | 790 | 810 | |||
| Yakusugi museum | 220 | 260 | 550 | 910 | 930 | ||
| Yakusugi land | 590 | 720 | 750 | 1,000 | 1,310 | 1,330 | |
| Kigen sugi | 300 | 800 | 910 | 940 | 1,180 | 1,470 | 1,480 |
| Nagata – Anbo – Oko-no-taki | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nagata | |||||||||
| Isso | 510 | ||||||||
| Miya- noura Port | 500 | 890 | |||||||
| Airport | 510 | 870 | 1,210 | ||||||
| Prefecture Hall (Anbo) | 380 | 780 | 1,110 | 1,420 | |||||
| Anbo | 130 | 410 | 810 | 1,140 | 1,440 | ||||
| Ono aida | 630 | 660 | 920 | 1,250 | 1,530 | 1,840 | |||
| Hirauchi | 300 | 830 | 860 | 1,100 | 1,410 | 1,690 | 2,000 | ||
| Kurio | 490 | 690 | 1,160 | 1,180 | 1,390 | 1,700 | 1,980 | 2,290 | |
| Oko no taki | 260 | 650 | 850 | 1,280 | 1,310 | 1,520 | 1,820 | 2,110 | 2410 |
| Arakawa Trail Entrance | |
|---|---|
| Miyanoura Port | 1,380 |
| Miyanoura | 1,360 |
| Airport | 1,070 |
| Prefectural Hall (Anbo) | 830 |
| Anbo | 800 |
| Makino | 770 |
| Arakawa Trail Entrance | |
|---|---|
| Hirauchi seaside Onsen | 1,390 |
| Hirauchi | 1,340 |
| Onoaida | 1,190 |
| Mugio | 1,030 |
| Takahira | 970 |
| Haruta | 790 |
| Shirtani Unsuikyu | |
|---|---|
| Miyanoura Port | 530 |
| Miyanoura | 500 |
| Kami Yakucho Town hall | 480 |
SCOOTER
Scooters can be rented at these places (Sites in Japanese) :
| Motorbike Rentals | |||||
| Name | Place | Tel | Engine | ||
| Suzuki Rentals | Miyanoura | 42-1772 | 50cc | ||
| You Shop 南国 | Anbo | 46-2705 | 50cc | ||
| Kamiyama Rentacar | Anbo | 49-7070 | 50cc | ||
| Yakushima Youth Hostel | Hirauchi | 47-3751 | 50cc | ||
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| Bicycle |
Mountain bikes are easy and cheap to rent in Miyanoura and Anbo. If you are so inclined, it takes around 8 hours to circumnavigate the island.
In the guide book there are details about a ¥800 mountain bike rental scheme whereby you can drop of a rented bike at various points around the island. (No need to return the way you came!)
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| Taxi |
Hikers often use taxis to take and collect them from the mountain trails in the early hours of the morning and late afternoon.
| Taxis | |||
| Name | Place | Tel | |
| Yakushima 交通 Taxi | Anbo | 46-2321 | |
| Miyanoura | 42-0611 | ||
| Onoaida | 47-2018 | ||
| Anbo Taxi | Anbo | 46-2311 | |
| Matsubanda交通 Taxi | Miyanoura | 42-0027 | |
| Anbo | 46-3900 | ||
2015 Prices of the common routes:
| TAXI PRICES | Miyanoura | Airport | Anbo | Onoaida |
| Miyanoura | 2,570 | 4,640 | 8,330 | |
| Airport | 2,570 | 2,390 | 5,540 | |
| Anbo | 4,640 | 2,390 | 3,830 | |
| Onoaida | 8,330 | 5,540 | 3,830 | |
| Shiratani Unsuikyo | 2,750 | 4,730 | 6,890 | 11,080 |
| Yakusugiland | 8,420 | 5,450 | 3,560 | 7,790 |
| Arakawa trail | 8,510 | 5,900 | 4,010 | 7,250 |
| Yodogawa trail | 10,580 | 7,250 | 5,180 | 8,510 |
HITCH-HIKING
It is not an uncommon site to see hitchhikers and many people pick them up due to the bus situation. It does depend on the time of day and the weather though as to how long you stand by the road.
For more informatiom about Yakushima transport check out the one and only Yakumonkey Guide
Need the book bro, e-book?….confirm release date please
I'm working on the second edition at the moment but the changes will be more esthetic – the core of information in the book will remain pretty much the same. No release date yet. If you need the information now, go ahead and buy the book.
Does gps work on yakushima pls？ is it easy to find the sights etc？ thanks！
Yes and it's easy provided you have a map and a good idea of where you're going.
where can i find a guided tour for one day?
Matsubanda bus company do sight-seeing bus tours – look at the bus timetable and it explains these tours: https://www.yakumonkey.com/2012/05/new-yakushima-b…. If you want a guide for the mountains try Cameron at cameron@yakushimaexperience.com.
Hi, we are planning on arriving in Yakushima by ferry on Thursday 22nd May, and leaving on the Sunday. We will want to rent a car – is it advisable to book in advance, or should it be fine to just sort out when we arrive?
Thanks.
I guess that it's best to book in advance as you've got such a short time. You can get help with this with your accommodation or try Suzuki Rentals – they seemed the nicest of the ones I visited when researching the book.
Hello Yakumonkey!
Thank you for your website and for your ebook, both really helpful to plan our trip!
We will be travelling to Yaku on November 2nd and departing from Anbo on the first ferry of November 5th. Based on the bus schedule I saw, I thought there was an early morning bus from South Village to Anbo Ferry Port but regretfully, our host in South Village tells me that there is none.
I am evaluating different options and I was wondering what is the winter time bus schedule like or whether it will be possible to drop off a rental car in Anbo Port (if so, at which car rental?) and even with the rental shop still being close, early in the morning.
Another option would be to get a taxi but I am wondering whether I can book it in advance and whether taxis are available very early in the morning.
Thank you very much for your help and have a great day!
Hello Lea. This is an old page. Did you click on a link on the website to get here? If so, I need to fix it. At the moment the latest bus timetable I have is until 17th September 2018 http://bit.ly/2NJ14cu. I'm still waiting for the one after that. Quite often your accommodation will help you arrange transport – you can ask South Village to help you book a taxi (yes, they run early as most hikers start at dawn). You can also try the tourist information as they have become so much better in helping tourists. Most car rental offices are near the airport or near Miyanoura port – there aren't many near Anbo.