Yakushima – operation «Rain Forest»
Brief information:
Yakushima is a Japanese island in the East China Sea, 60 km south of the island of Kyushu. It is an irregular pentagon with an area of 503 square kilometers with 45 mountain peaks up to 2,000 meters above sea level. Most of the island is covered by tropical, relict forest, with preserved ancient Yaku-sugi cedars, which are over 1,000 years old, and a rich fauna, including deer and monkeys.
Famous Japanese animation director, winner of the Oscar for best animated film Spirited Away, Hayao Miyazaki used this ancient forest as a model for his illustrations for the anime «Princess Mononoke».
Preparations for this event were carried out by our official representative in Japan Ryuji Nishiguchi
When I came across Ryuji’s proposal to visit Yaku Island as a future location for our international events, I tried to get more information from the Internet.
It turns out that Yakushima Island is the wettest place in Japan. There is even a saying: “It rains here 35 days a month” Numerous tourists are divided mainly into two categories. The first one comes to see the ancient Yaku-Sugi cedars. The oldest tree, named Jomon-sugi, is believed to be 4,000–7,000 years old.
The second group is more international. It includes animation lovers inspired by Hayao Miyazaki. They choose trails of varying difficulty. Average difficulty: 5-6 hours of trekking to one of the mountain peaks.
The reward for tourists is a visit to the joint (men and women together without clothes) hot springs on the ocean.
Our visit to the source coincided with high tide, so we’ll take a dip next time.
