Woke up yesterday morning with rain outside our window. It looks like most of southern Japan was going to get showers the next few days which made it perfect timing for us to leave for the next place. A few years ago, my friend Luke recommended a place called Yakushima Island for my next Japan trip as it’s a designated world heritage site due to having Japanese cedar forests with trees that are several thousand years old.
We packed up our stuff and headed to the train station from Fukuoka to Kagoshima.
Once we arrived to Kagoshima and got some lunch, I followed the google maps directions which told us to take the streetcar from Kagoshima station to the nearest stop to the ferry terminal. Unfortunately the conductor didn’t give us enough time to get off so we had to walk even farther than the 15 minutes Google said we needed to. It would have been faster and easier if we just caught a cab from the train station to save some time and energy as it was really hot and humid, my bad.
We arrived at the terminal and in front of us was the Sakurajima volcano which is what makes Kagoshima famous. It’s Japan’s most active volcano and last erupted in 1914. I read that it smokes occasionally and ash falls down on the city so people carry umbrellas with them. One of the recommended activities in this city is to get a hot sand bath where they bury you in hot sand from the geo thermic heat from the volcano.
I prebooked the ferry tickets for a 1:30pm departure and was able to pick them up at the check in counter. The boat we’re on is technically a hydrofoil? I guess the difference between that and a ferry is how they’re constructed and propel in the water. Hydrofoils are faster but can carry less weight. I was pretty surprised at how stable it was and that it didn’t make either of us boat sick. We had blue skies and sunshine during the hour and a half journey. I feel like it’s been pretty overcast so far throughout the trip so this was a nice change.
As we slowed down to dock, I looked out the window and said “Whoah are we back in Hawaii?” everything was so green and lush! I read that the forests here were the actually the inspiration to the movie Princess Mononoke.
We got off the boat and looked around expecting to see a guy to pick us up to go to the car rental place down the road. We waited a little bit until there was no one around anymore and then I called the car rental office. This is the gist of the conversation.
Me in Japanese: [Konnichiwa, this is Andrew, do you speak English?]
Lady: [No sorry]
Me: [Oh I see, I’m at Miyanoura, nobody here?]
Lady: [Are you taking a taxi?]
Me: [no taxi exists]
Lady: [is there a bus?]
Me: [Bus gone]
And then at that moment the guy that was supposed to come pick us up arrived. I wouldn’t have been able to have that simple conversation had I not taken Japanese last semester. It kind of felt like a rush where I knew what was happening and I could try to eek out words to communicate my thoughts. Really want to learn more to be better at this but why does Japanese have to be one of THE hardest languages to learn?!
I managed to squeeze out a little bit more Japanese with the car rental lady and she walked us to this cute little Suzuki car which I have to drive…on the opposite side of the road…
I remember when we went to Okinawa we had to drive to get around, every time you wanted to use the turn signal, you’d instinctively hit the windshield wipers. This time was no different. Thankfully both Yakushima and Okinawa are kind of slow lazy tropical island so people aren’t in a rush. Also Japanese people are pretty chill and polite which is exactly the opposite of the traffic I experienced in Mumbai a few weeks ago. I just had to keep reminding myself “Left side, left side, left side” while driving.
It took 45 minutes to get to Shikinoyado on the south eastern side of the island which is where we’re staying for the week. Luke recommended we check out something called a minshuku which is like a bed and breakfast run by a Japanese family. We met our host Kentaro who I’ve been in contact with since 2019 when I originally planned on coming here to stay. He walked us down the road to our cabin which has both an ocean and mountain view. Due to the clouds though the mountain was covered up, hopefully we’ll get to see it tomorrow but besides that, this place is seriously UNREAL.
I’m so excited to stay here. We have the whole cabin to ourselves and it has one of my favorite parts of a modern Japanese home which is a wet bathroom with soaking bathtub. The toilet is separate from the bathing area which is set up to get wet and the tub is not long like we’re used to but it’s tall so you can get fully submerged in it. My dream home would have a bathroom like this (my dreams are practical).
Kentaro invited us to get settled in and that dinner would be served in 2 hours. Joanna passed out like a rock due to her dose of dramamine for the boat. I took a super long soak in the tub and just mediated on life, this trip, and what was going to be for dinner. It’s been a crazy month at work for me and a rough few months of work for Joanna so we both just needed the recharge to connect back to life.
At 6:15 we headed to the communal meal area where they served us a home cooked meal which looked too good to eat.
The food was just so fresh and delicious. Fish “hamburger” patty, poached onions, roasted radishes, daikon/carrots/tofu simmered in dashi broth, grilled bell peppers and zucchini, sashimi, and miso soup.
I’m probably being overly dramatic but it felt like this meal filled my soul in addition to my stomach. Joanna ordered a fresh squeezed orange juice and she said it was the best OJ she’s ever had in her life. We googled what kind of oranges grow in Yakushima and it turns out Tankan Oranges are one of the main exports of this island. They were brought over from Taiwan over 50 years ago and are said to have 2x the vitamin C of mandarin oranges.
We’re going to be here for the next 3 days and plan on doing 2 days of hiking around the island to see some waterfall, trees that are old AF, and hopefully see some wildlife too. The amazing environment and equally amazing food feels so rejuvenating right now. I’m excited to see what’s next!
