How to visit Yakushima without a guide Day 3 – Jomon Sugi trail

How to visit Yakushima without a guide Day 3 – Jomon Sugi trail

Today we planned the big hike to Jyomon-Sugi cedar, a (maybe)7500 year-old cedar tree in the middle of the island. The hike is a 4-5 hours trek along a deserted railway to reach Jyomon–Sugi and backtrack to the starting point. As daylight ends so early, an early morning start is a must. In fact the latest shuttle bus leaving from the car park at Yakusugi Museum is 5:40am at this time of the year.

How to visit Yakushima without a guide Day 2 – Shiratani Unsuikyo Ravine hike

How to visit Yakushima without a guide Day 2 – Shiratani Unsuikyo Ravine hike

The second day in Yakushima was again a sunny day! We could hardly believe our luck in Yakushima. Shiratani Unsuikyo Ravine is a valley located at the north part of the island. It has three trekking routes varying in difficulty and length. We decided to do a combination of Bugyosugi Cedar course (the orange route) and Yaoisugi Cedar course(the red route). The combination would take around 4-5 hours.

How to visit Yakushima without a guide Day 1- Yakusugi Land

How to visit Yakushima without a guide Day 1- Yakusugi Land

As it gets dark around 5pm in autumn months, we decided on a half day hike in Yakusugi Land. It is a lovely valley about 45mins drive from Anbo. There are several routes marked with different colours. We settled on the longer 210min route (Tenmon-no-mori course).