Yakushima (Jomon Sugi Trail)
A long, mossy day trek to Japan's oldest living cedar, on an island of ancient rainforest
- Difficulty
- Hard
- Duration
- About 10 hours round trip, roughly 22 km, done as a single long day
- Summit elevation
- 1300 m
Yakushima's ancient cedar forest, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1993, inspired the moss-covered woodland of Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke. The full-day trek to Jomon Sugi, an estimated 2,000 to 7,000 years old and the island's most famous tree, follows an old logging railway track before climbing a steep, root-woven forest trail to a viewing platform set back from the trunk to protect its roots.
Highlights
- Jomon Sugi, an ancient cedar thousands of years old
- Wilson Stump, a giant cedar stump you can stand inside
- The old Anbo logging railway track along the lower trail
- Moss-covered forest that inspired Princess Mononoke
Getting there
Fly or take a high-speed ferry from Kagoshima to Yakushima, then a bus or taxi to the Yakusugi Museum in Anbo to board the mandatory shuttle bus to the Arakawa trailhead.
Safety tips
This is a long day, roughly 10 hours and 22 kilometres round trip, with real elevation gain and exposed boardwalk sections that become slippery in the frequent rain; start on the earliest possible shuttle bus to build in a margin before the last bus back.
What to bring
- Sturdy, broken-in trekking boots
- A headlamp for the pre-dawn shuttle and possible late return
- Full rain gear, given how frequently it rains
- Enough food and water for a 10-hour day, since there is nowhere to buy either on the trail