I arrived at Yakushima’s Miyanoura Port from Kagoshima by jetfoil. There are several boats a day by various companies, which is indicative of the popularity this island has among Japanese holidaymakers. People do come here mostly for hiking, and in the main street of Miyanoura well-outfitted Japanese hikers is a common sight. The town itself has a few thousand inhabitants, several good restaurants, a large supermarket and places to stay. And plenty of souvenir shops, of course, selling mostly wooden items.

Hiking is what I did on my first full day too. I went to Shiratani, located a mere half hour uphill by bus. This is the starting point for several short and longer walks. The drive up there already was enough to win me over for this island. The scenery really is spectacular – trees, trees and more trees, in every shade of green that exists. I was on a “normal” local bus, but the bus driver halted at a viewpoint anyway to let me and 6 fellow passengers take photos of the landscape. And he did so too when we encountered a group of Japanese macaques by the side of the road. Many “oohs” and “aahs” were uttered at the sight of these monkeys just next to our bus. It even got better when they were joined by a Sika deer. So we had seen the two most prominent mammal species of the island before even getting into the national park.

At Shiratani, I opted to hike the full loop (about 3 hours long). The trail is well-marked by fluorescent pink ribbons that are tied to trees. I guess someone walks out there every morning to tie new ones. The first half of the walk leads up to Shiratani Hut and is quite easy. At least I thought so until I had to cross a stream marked on the map with “watch out for high water”. Japanese are no wimps, and hikers of all ages managed to cross the stream by stepping/jumping from stone to stone. Maybe it helps when you’re covered in expensive gear. While I was watching them and trying to find some courage in myself, I saw a troop of monkeys appear. They crossed the stream also, not disturbed at all by the presence of humans. And they also had a little Sika deer in tow. A very fun thing to watch. It gave me enough of a boost to cross this and many of the other streams that were to follow. Of course, I passed several of the old Sugi-trees too, some of which have split at the bottom so you can walk through them.

The second part of the hike became more of a run, as the rain started to pour down. I saw no more animals, and I found the forest even more dense and gloomy on this side of the route.

So in one day, I had seen it all, the island's most remarkable flora and fauna. But I did not enter the core zone of the WHS! Although almost the whole island is covered by ancient forests, the designated part is a smaller area that includes the highest mountains and the untouched forests. It is also smaller than the national park, leaving the Advisory Body to suggest an extension could be useful (“Some prime areas of old-growth forest and some scenic features and waterfalls fall outside but adjacent to the nominated area”).

Therefore the goal for my second day in Yakushima was to set foot into the core zone. It is also the least accessible zone of course. But I found out that the WHS extends to the coastline in the western part of the island. It also includes a scenic road: the Seibu Rindon Forest Path. It is too narrow for buses, but I could get to the Ohko-no-taki waterfall and walk from there. It looked like a 3 to 4-km hike on the map, and in reality, it surely wasn’t more. Fortunately, it was a very sunny day. After about 40 minutes I encountered a signboard “Welcome to the Natural World Heritage Area”, with a map clearly showing “You are here” – just at the border of the core zone! I strolled around for a bit, enjoying the fine views of the forested mountains, and encountering even more macaques and deer. I heard and saw many more birds here than at Shiratani, probably a sign that it is quieter on this side of the island.

The conclusion of this review may be clear already: Yakushima is a lovely getaway island.