Located in the middle of the island, Miyanoura- dake is the highest peak on Yakushima, as well as the highest mountain in south Japan. We couldn’t believe our luck to wake up with another sunny morning, a perfect start for a long hike. The most common starting point is Yodogawa Mountain trail entrance, though it is possible to access the peak from west Hanayama entrance or even continued from Jyomon-Sugi. At this point we have learned that all the trails here are connected. There are basic huts in the forest, so one can do a multi-day circular trek visiting all the places if equipped with camping gear.

At this moment we have done the most popular hikes on the island. Janokuchi-taki Waterfall trail is lesser known to tourists, therefore we were almost the only people on the trail for the most part. The trail started from Onaida-Onsen house and runs into a tropical forest covered with palm trees. It is amazing to see here how tropical plants and cooler temperature zone plants, like cedar could exist not far away from each other.