Yakushima Life: Guided Traverse

Traverse: Miyanoura Dake to Jomon Sugi in Two Days
Connect the hike to Miyanoura Dake, Kyushu's highest peak on the first day, to the hike to the ancient Jomon Sugi on the second day, and finish at either the Arakawa Trail Head or the Moss Forests of Shiratani Unsuikyo Park. Weather and terrain make this hike more challenging than you might expect for covering 25 km in two days.

Kyushu's highest peak at 1936m.

The trail starts amid beautiful old-growth forests. . .

. . . winding around conifers . . .

. . . to the World Natural Heritage Site.

Enjoy the crystal clear and ice-cold Yodogo River.

The trail gets narrower as it goes up.

Cross Hana no Ego, Japan's southernmost high-altitude peat marsh.

Leave the forests behind and walk among the realm of the gods in the Central Mountains.

The trail goes over Kyushu's third highest peak, Kurio Dake, too!

Will you be greeted with clouds or blue skies?

Spend the night at a mountain shelter or tent pitched nearby.

The Jomon Sugi tree, said to be 2,170 to 7,200 years old.

Follow the old logging rail road.

We can turn off to Shiratani and climb up to the lookout at Taiko Iwa.

In Shiratani, pass the famous Moss Forest before finishing the hike.

Links:

Content last updated in 2020.

Experience Level:: Advanced
-Fixed ropes to assist scrambling.
-Fog, rain, wind, and trail conditions may make the route hard to follow.
Trail Head Access:: Car or Taxi
Time:: ~9 Hours + 1 night + 7 hours
Distance:: ~13 km + 11 km
Elevation:: 1365 m to 1936 m to 1300 m + 1300 m to 600 m

Deer/Monkey Sightings	☆☆☆☆☆
Yakusugi Trees	☆☆☆☆☆
Mossy Forests	☆☆☆☆☆
Vista Views	☆☆☆☆☆
Endurance	⚠⚠⚠⚠⚠
Strength & Technicality	⚠⚠⚠⚠⚠
Crowds	⚠⚠⚠⚠⚠
Weather Cancellations	⚠⚠⚠⚠⚠ (Wind, snow, severe rain)

Costs:

The town of Yakushima recommends a voluntary donation of ¥2000 (valid for all World-Hertiage Site hiking in one month) per hiker and purchase of a disposable toilet kit.
For a guided hike expect to pay from ¥28,000 to ¥50,000 depending on season, number of hikers, options, etc.
The cost of a taxi from Anbo to the Yodogo (Yodogawa) Trail Head runs around ¥7,000 (2020). The cost of a shuttle bus ticket + bus down from the Arakawa Trail Head to Anbo runs around ¥1,000, while a taxi would cost around ¥5,000. Between Shiratan Unvuikyo Park and Miyanoura, the bus costs around ¥600, and a taxi costs about ¥2,500.

Getting to the Trailhead (GPS coords: 30.3000, 130.5337):

You can take a taxi or drive. The road from Anbo to the Yodogo Trailhead is about an hour's drive on a narrow, winding road. If you're driving, watch out for monkeys, deer, fallen objects, oncoming traffic, and the occasional cyclist. Most hikers leave the trail head well before dawn, often around 5am.

Toilets:

Toilets (of varying luxury) available at Yodogo (Yodogawa) Trail Head, Yodogo (Yodogawa) Hut 1.5km into the hike, Shin Takatsuka Hut, and Takatsuka Hut. You will need to bring your own toilet paper and follow the directions for these. There are more toilets (with toilet paper) at the end of the train tracks, and about halfway down the train tracks, as well as at Shiratani Unsuikyo Hut and park entrance, and at the Arakawa Trail Head. Bring a toilet kit (wag bag) for use along the trail and carry out all waste and toilet paper.

Huts:

The huts in Yakushima vary in size and structure, but they are all sturdy-but-rudimentary, unstaffed emergency shelters with four walls, a roof, a door, and windows. You will need to bring all of your supplies including toilet paper, food, and bedding, and pack out all of your trash. You may NOT wash dishes in the wilderness. There is no reservation system, but there is usually plenty of space except during holidays (2021). You may also pitch a self-standing tent IN THE VICINITY OF THE HUTS. Use of tent pegs and hammocking in this area is discouraged. Gas camping stoves are permitted, but wood-burning is not allowed.

Equipment List:

Water Bottle, Lunch + Snacks, Headlamp + Batteries, First Aid Kit, Map, Compass, GPS, Rain Jacket + Rain Pants, Hiking Boots, Spare Jacket, Disposable Toilet Kit + toilet paper, sleeping bag + mat, extra food, gas stove, etc.

The Hike:

From the Yodogawa (Yodogo) Trail Head at an elevation of 1365 m, set out by dawn on a mountain trail over rough, sometimes muddy, often slippery terrain. After less than an hour, enter the World Natural Heritage Site, stop by the Yodogo Hut, and cross the beautiful Yodogawa (Yodogo) River. Many hikers choose to eat breakfast around the bridge over the Yodogo River. The latrine at the hut is the last one until you reach the hut for night.

From here, the trail starts to seriously ascend. Small trees begin to crowd the trail, making passage difficult in snowy months. There is a short boardwalk across Hana-no-Ego, Japan's southernmost high-altitude peat marsh, but as the trail approaches the forest line, you will encounter more exposed rock and several fixed ropes to help the ascent. After passing the turn-off for Kuromi Daké, you'll head towards a low point called Nageishi Daira, where flattish bolders make for a comfortable resting spot in good weather. In inclimate weather, you'll want to continue just a little farther to find some final shelter in the shadow of a boulder before leaving the forest behind and entering the realm of bamboo grass and rhododendrons. One of Yakushima's most famous sites is the rhododendron bloom in late May, when the rainy season gets underway. Any time of the year, you will likely cross paths with deer or perhaps monkeys. Don't try to sneak up on them.

If the weather is hot and dry, make sure you get water at the last water hole before the approach to Kurio Daké and Miyanoura Daké. Kurio Daké is Kyūshū's third highest mountain. Once you pass over the peak of Miyanoura Daké, the trail is considerably less used. Be careful not to underestimate the time you'll need to get to the hut. Plan to reach the Shin Takatsuka Hut and set up camp before dark. If you get there too early, you can continue (usually about an hour) on to Takatsuka Hut, thereby shaving an hour of your hike the second day. The forest between Shin Takatsuka Hut and Takatsuka Hut may be the most beautiful of the whole island. Note that the water hole for Takatsuka Hut is ten minutes beyond the hut, at Jomon Sugi.

Once you reach a hut, you can either set up your tent on any of the flat space nearby, or you can use the space inside. The primary purpose of the huts is emergency shelter: There is no reservation system and you must share the space inside with everybody else. The huts are free and never close, although the doors can be hard to open in snowy weather. Unfortunately, only a swath of starrry sky is visible from Shin Takastuka Hut, and you'd have to backtrack maybe ten minutes uphill from Takatsuka Hut to get a view of the sky.

The second day is slightly shorter and much easier, but I also recommend an early start (no later than 8) to avoid crowds. If the morning is clear, sunrise at Jomon Sugi is worth it!

Wilson's Stump tends to be at its most crowded between 9:15 and 10:15. By all means, go insde and see the "heart".

When you reach the train tracks, the restrooms are to the right, just across the bridge. It's about a brisk hour's walk to the next set of restrooms, and the turn-off for Shriatani Unsuikyo Park is just beyond. But from the turn-off to park entrance, it's another hour up and another hour down, so if you're too tired, or if the weather is bad, just keep going down the train track until you get to the Arakawa Trail Head. This route will take you through the heart of the abandoned mining village of KosugiDani, where hundreds of people lived until 1970.

If you do go to Shiratani, at the end up the uphill slog, you'll reach the saddlepoint with a turnoff to Taiko-Iwa. If the weather is bad, don't bother, but if there's any chance of a view, leave your packs (take your valuables, jacket, and water) at the turnoff, and go. Then you'll head down through the Moss Forest towards the park entrance. If you're doing a super-leisurely hike, you can also spend a night in the Shiratani Hut, but it's so close to the trail head (and often a bit stinky) that most hikers don't. At the time of writing, the most dangerous river crossing is the stream shortly past the hut. If you can't safely cross, just wait for the water to recede.

In the case of bad weather

This hike should not be attempted if the road to the trail head becomes dangerous because of ice or threat of rockslides due to particularly intense rain, if a severe weather warning is issued, or if high winds or heavy snow is predicted. Lightning storms and hail are also possible in summer. In minimal snow conditions from fall through spring, micros-spikes and mini(instep)-crampons are recommended for icey patches. In deeper snow, the trail may become burried, and postholing and the steep, rocky terrain make hiking difficult. Thick fog is also possible, especially in the spring and early fall.

If a storm catches you well into your hike, you can try to take shelter in a disposable toilet booths or return to Yodogo (Yodogawa) Hut. Your safest escape route is the same way you hiked up until have hiked over Miyanoura Dake and reached the Sansaro Fork. From this fork, the trail to Shin Takatsuka Hut, down to Jomon Sugi and out to the Arakawa Trail Head is almost always the recommended escape route, but if low visibility in the central mountains is an issue, it may be easier to return the way you came.

Cellphone signals are strongest near the beginning of the trail, at the east end of Nageishi Daira, at the very peak of Miyanoura Daké, and at various points, espcecially where the ocean is visible and around Takatsuka Hut, down until you reach Jomon Sugi. Once you pass the Daiou Sugi (a half hour beyond Jomon Sugi) you will not have cell-phone service until near the end of your hike (unless you hike up to Taiko Iwa in Shiratani Unsuikyo).

Although there are many other ways to traverse Yakushima, and it's possible to spend a second or even a third night as you make your way across, I recommend this route for its high splendor-to-hardship ratio.