Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Yakushika Deer (
屋久鹿
)
. Dark brown with a white tail, Yaku deer are most prevalent on the island's
wild western side, especially along the Seibu Rindō (
西部林道
), the dramaic serpenine Western
Forestry Road. The Yakushika is one of the world's smallest deer. A full-grown male only stands about
1-1.5 meters (3-4 feet) and weighs 30-45 kilograms (60-100 pounds).
Miyanoura-daké
(
宮之浦岳
). Mt Miyanoura, Yakushima's tallest peak, is the southernmost point in
Japan where snow falls.
Hirauchi Kaichuu Onsen
(
平内海中温泉
). One of the nicest outdoor hot springs (
onsen
) on Yakushi-
ma, all that's required is a small 100 Yen contribuion.
There are not too many places in Japan that have been designated as UNESCO World
Heritage Sites, but Yakushima's warm temperate Yakusugi Forest is one of them and, in fact,
was Japan's first. Yaku Island's dense, verdant green forests contain some of the largest and
oldest species of Cryptomeria (
屋久杉
;
Yaku-sugi
; Latin:
Cryptomeria japonica
) in the world.
The term Yakusugi generally refers to large Japanese cedars that are more than 1,000 years old
and grow in the mountains usually 1,640 feet (500 meters) or more above sea level. Though
called cedar trees both in English and Japanese, sugi are taxonomically unrelated to that
group. One giant specimen, the Jōmon-sugi (
縄文杉
) is tree-ring dated at over 2,000 years.
Former reports of it being over 7,000 years old, and thus making it earth's oldest living thing,
have now been discounted.
