I woke up randomly at 3:30am yesterday morning and wasn’t able to get back to sleep. When we first arrived, everything was overcast so you weren’t able to see the 3000ft tall Mt. Motchomudake in front of our minshuku. I looked out the window and saw that the clouds had gone and there were a bunch of stars out. This was probably the best opportunity to try taking a few pictures of the night sky. I still have a ton to learn about this style of photography but I think these turned out nicely without dedicated equipment besides a tripod.
Before I knew it, the sun was already coming up and it was time to have another delicious homemade Japanese meal. Even at 7:30am, it was already quite hot and humid. I was concerned about how we would fare with our hike I had planned out but it was up in the mountains so hopefully it would be cooler up there. Breakfast was another home run. Fried egg with green onions, poached salmon, salad with ginger dressing, marinated bamboo shoots, marinated beans with seaweed, miso soup. On top of that, we had a great view of the mountain too.
The plan was to drive an hour up to Shiratani Unsui Gorge from where we were staying. Looking at the map, it seemed that the roads were pretty windy but I was surprised that they seemed almost in brand new condition. The drive reminded me of the road to Hana on Maui but way safer and we saw a troupe of monkeys on the side of the road.
We planned to take the orange line Bugyosugi Cedar trail down along the green Taikoiwa Rock trail. If the green trail wasn’t too difficult, we’d get to at least the moss covered forest and turn around to loop up and finish the orange trail to see the rest of the cedar trees. The map said to estimate a 3 mile hike which didn’t seem too bad. We packed a few bottles of water, some snacks, and bought a “portable toilet” for $5 from the park ranger just in case we couldn’t find a bathroom nearby.
The reason I love Japan so much is because there’s such a variety of experiences you can have. You can go to Tokyo where it’s a futuristic cityscape where you’re just overstimulated with lights and sounds. Or you can make time to go on a hike to see trees that are estimated to be between 3,000-7,000 years old. We started off really well, the temperature was comfortable and there were no bugs at all. Last weekend we went morel hunting and were absolutely swarmed with mosquitos. Had to give up after 30 minutes because it was so miserable from getting bit.
The scenery was really breathtaking here. I’m an ok photographer and my photos barely give this place justice. If you’re given the opportunity to make the trek out to Yakushima, I HIGHLY recommend coming here.
The mist started setting in which gave the hike a more magical feeling. While the trail wasn’t crowded, there were a bunch of old Japanese people passing us saying ganbare (good luck) which gave us more motivation to keep going forward. Last weekend, we stopped at a neighbor’s garage sale who was selling $150 carbon fiber trekking poles for $15. I’ve always considered getting them for hikes because my knees were killing me the next day but never pulled the trigger. This was a steal so we bought them and took them along for this trip. I have to say that they were a huge game changer in hiking over these big rocks and tree roots. Joanna and I split the pair and just having the extra stability or spreading out your weight as you go up or down steep hills really made the trail easier to navigate.
I found a really nice stream of water to take a picture at. Handed my pole to Joanna so I could set up my tripod. Once I got my camera set up, I slipped on the wet rock and fell hard in the water. My leg and arm got scraped and I landed on my shoulder but it could have been so much worse. I’m thankful I didn’t break anything or hit my head. What stinks is that was within 30 min towards the start of the hike too. Joanna managed to take a pic of me moments before it happened. We still got our photo so I guess it was worth it? I learned my lesson about keeping my trekking pole with me.
We got to the fork in the road where the green and yellow trails split off. Joanna figured that if we were already hiking the green trail, it couldn’t have much more difficult and we might as well finish it before looping around to complete the orange one. I wouldn’t say that the decision was a mistake but we definitely underestimated how much energy or snacks we had considering we go hiking maybe once a year. The mist also turned into light rain at this point but thankfully we had prepared with our rain jackets and hiking sandals. I felt bad for a few people we passed with only sneakers and tshirts, I thought if I were in their soggy shoes, I’d be kind of miserable especially if they were the only shoes taken on the trip.
The moss covered forest was totally worth it though and the cedar trees that we saw were huge! I haven’t been to the national redwood forest in California yet but I’m guessing it’s something like these trees which have stood for thousands of years.
We made the decision to complete the full hike and see the Taikoiwa rock. It would kind of suck to come all the way here and give up at the last bit of the trail. I’m glad that we made it because the clouds parted and we had an amazing view.
Just kidding, that’s not even Joanna. We had a miserable hike up a steep trail where it started raining even heavier. It took at least 30 min to get up to the summit where it was super cloudy and we couldn’t see anything at all. If you’re planning on coming to do this hike and it’s a cloudy day, I would recommend just turning around when you get to the moss covered forest.
We started the hike at 10:30am and it was now 1:45pm. The trail to the end here was almost all uphill so at least the way back would be easier. We waffled back and forth if we should do the rest of the orange trail but it took an hour and a half to get back to the trail intersection where they split. At this point we said screw it since all the trees just blended together, we weren’t impressed anymore because of how tired we were, and we just wanted to get dry.
I don’t have any sponsors or advertisers on my blog but I will make a special exception if Kokun pork sausages wants to be my first. I picked up a bag at the grocery store before we went on this hike and when we stopped for a snack break, Joanna had 3 and said that her energy level really perked up. I first had these in 2015 with Kimberly and Jonathan when we were staying in Chiba, south of Tokyo. Our breakfast was usually some bread, these cold pork sausages, and a milk tea. I really like them because they have that nice snap when you bite into it like a hot dog in natural casing, they’re juicy, and not too salty. So if you’re going to grab some weenies, don’t just grab anyone’s weenie, make sure they’re Kokun brand weenies.
On our hike back, we ran into just a few hikers along the trail including a Japanese family with 2 kids who were younger than 6 and the dad was carrying what looked like a 3 year old sleeping in his arms. Considering I slipped and fell, I really hoped they made it through ok.
I have no idea how all the old Japanese people were able to hike this trail but we finally made it back at 4:45pm. A whole 6 hours from when we started. I also tracked our hike with my fitbit which said we did about 6.7 miles which is the longest hike we’ve ever done.
The below pic is us pointing out where we started and turned around on the hike.
This was truly an unforgettable place and I’m so glad that we were able to experience it, rain and all. It’s amazing that over 40% of Yakushima Island is now protected natural forest and considering what we saw, I can totally understand the significance of it.
We stopped at the closest restaurant that was open and just ate in silence because of how tired we were. I had to stop to get bandages for my arm and leg and make the 30 min drive back to our place. It was starting to get dark but we made it just in time to see the sunset just as we got out of the car.
I’m looking forward to seeing all the other neat-ure on the island this week!
Pixel has a astrophotography mode in night mode that’s pretty good just using a tripod.
You two are the MOST amazing people I’ve ever seen! I felt like I was right there with you. I’d LOVE to be. But, you’d have to carry me, for sure!! Lol. ❤️😘