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Yakushima is a round island noted for Yakushima National Park and World Heritage Site. When describing a location, they use clock face numbers. Miyanoura Port is at one o'clock.
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Main road on Yakushima as we go to Yakusugi Land by tour bus.
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Rare to see these Yakushima mountains. They are usually shrouded by clouds or fog. Rains a lot on Yakushima.
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I thought Yakushima was going to be mostly wilderness and sparsely populated like Iriomote in Okinawa. So it was surprising to see the island so well populated.
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Yakusugi Land is in the mountains, so our bus drove up the mountain road.
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Lots of greenery along the way up the mountains.
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Nice mountain views on Yakushima.
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Some wild monkeys on the mountain road.
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Wild monkeys on the mountain road in Yakushima. Waiting to get food tossed by tourists. (None from us.)
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Yakusugi cedar trees can only grow in cold climates. Therefore on Yakushima, they grow at high altitudes.
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Mountain road got very narrow. This bridge was narrow too.
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Pretty hairy drive going up the mountain.
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Nice mountain views on Yakushima.
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Road construction work, hopefully they are widening the road.
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Entrance to Yakushima most famous cedar tree named "Jomonsugi" (縄文杉) said to be a few thousand years old. However, it's a serious hike to see it.
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Yakusugi Land is a lush, thick, mountain forest area featuring ancient Yakusugi cedars (Cryptomeria japonica) native to Yakushima and the island's major attraction. You can see a variety of Yakusugi cedars by walking on a forest trail of varying lengThe forest trail starts and ends at the same place, but there are several trail options. The shortest trail route is 0.8 km long (yellow line on this map named Fureai-no-Michi, numbered from 1 to 6), taking about 30 min. This is the trail we went on. Even this short trail for tourists was very impressive. Another easy tourist trail is 1.2 km taking 50 min. (red line).
The longer trails going for 2.0 km, 3.0 km, and 4.4 km (green line) involve mountain climbing taking about 80 min., 150 min., and 3.5 hours respectively. These longer trails require proper climbing equipment and physical endurance.
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Kuguri-tsuga or "Conifer Underpass." They have names for all these different trees in unusual shapes or growths.くぐり栂Japanese pamphlet (pdf) and map of the trail here: https://y-rekumori.com/pdf/yakusugi_land_pamphlet.pdf
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Easy tourist hike.
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Rinsen-bashi Bridge 林泉橋
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Rinsen-bashi Bridge goes over a small stream.林泉橋
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Yakusugi Land tourist hike to see old cedar trees (and stumps) on Yakushima island, Kagoshima.
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Kind of sad to see so many great Yakusugi cedar trees which were cut down. But at least they still survive in some form or hosting other trees and plants.
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How sacred Yakusugi cedars started to be harvested from the 17th century. Much of the wood was used for roof shingles on mainland Japan. Luxury homes might still have Yakusugi as interior ceiling panels to show off the fine wood grain.
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How sacred Yakusugi cedars started to be harvested from the 17th century. (English version) They can be centuries old or even a few thousand years old.
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Domaiboku is a tree already harvested or felled by a typhoon. The tree's high resin content prevents the wood from rotting. Discarded scrap tree parts have been recovered to make souvenirs. 土埋木
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Detour path on the right to see the 1000-year cedar. Didn't have time to see it.
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Everything is so artistic. Nature is the greatest artist of all.
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So many things grow on these trees.
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Regenerating on a tree stump. Other plants or trees grow on old trees, like epiphytes.
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Twin cedars or Futago-sugi and also regeneration on tree stump. 双子杉
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Such a picturesque forest trail. Highly recommended. Best to hike the longer trail (50 min.) though. The 30-min. trail is too short.
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Yakusugi cedar tree stump.
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Kuguri Cedar or Cedar Underpass. くぐり杉
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Yakusugi cedar tree on Yakushima island, Kagoshima.
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Ultra-fine grain of Yakusugi cedar.
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Seiryo-bashi suspension bridge. 清涼橋
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Seiryo-bashi suspension bridge. After this bridge, it's a short walk back to the parking lot, bus stop, or starting point. 清涼橋
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At Yakusugi Land's starting (and ending) point is this gift shop named Shinsen (森泉).
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Souvenirs made of Yakusugi cedar.
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The gift shop has this phone booth inside a hollow Yakusugi tree trunk.
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Phone booth inside a hollow Yakusugi tree trunk.
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