Yakushima 屋久島 is a Japanese forested island at the top of the Ryukyu chain of islands and famous for its ancient cedar forests, high mountains and its status as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site.
The island is stunningly green with 90% forest and it has over 40 mountains including Miyanoura-dake which is the highest mountain in Southern Japan. There are several settlements around the island, none much larger than a village and none in the west where the UNESCO area extends to the sea.
There are 13,585 people (6,665 men and 6,920 women) living in these settlements, the largest of which is Miyanoura in the north,
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| The bustling metropolis of Miyanoura |
followed by Anbo in the east.
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| Somewhere in that forest is Anbo |
There are around 7000 wild Yakushika deer and about the same number of wild Yakumonkeys and they roam freely around the island. I can’t think of a single day I haven’t seen either somewhere around. At night deer calls are a very common sound almost anywhere.
Here’s a map of the protected areas of Yakushima. The UNESCO area goes right up to the coastline in the west and covers most of the higher mountains.
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| Source: Ministry of the Environment website |
To get your bearings when you look at the rest of the information – here is a map in English:
So take a look around, enjoy the delights of Yakushima and let me know what you think or ask a question in the comments section below.
For more information about Yakushima – check out the one and only Yakushima: A Yakumonkey Guide
