Yakushima

In 1980, an area of 18,958 ha (46,850 acres) was designated a UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserve.[3] In 1993, 10 hectares (25 acres) of wetland at Nagata-hama was designated a Ramsar Site.[4] It is the largest nesting ground for the endangered loggerhead sea turtle in the North Pacific.[2][5] Yakushima's unique remnant of warm/temperate ancient forest has been a natural World Heritage Site since 1993. In the Wilderness core area (12.19 square kilometres (3,010 acres)) of the World Heritage Site, no record of past tree cutting can be traced.[6]

The island is visited by 300,000 tourists every year.

Yakushima has been settled since at least the Jōmon period. It was first mentioned in written documents of the Chinese Sui dynasty of the 6th century, and in the Japanese Shoku Nihongi in an entry dated 702 CE. It formed part of ancient Tane Province. It was often mentioned in the diaries of travelers between Tang dynasty China and Nara period Japan.

During the Edo period, Yakushima was ruled by the Shimazu clan of the Satsuma Domain and was considered part of Ōsumi Province. Following the Meiji restoration, the island has been administered as part of Kagoshima Prefecture.

In 2017, Yakushima was struck by Typhoon Noru causing one death.

The population of Yakushima reached a peak in 1960 with 24,010 inhabitants. It thereafter declined until about 1995, but has subsequently stabilized at just over 13,000 inhabitants.

Traditionally, the economic mainstays of the population were forestry and the export of wood products (principally cedar roof shingles), and commercial fishing. Cultivation of oranges and tea, the distilling of shōchū, and tourism are now the main sources of income.

Yaku-sugi (Jōmon-sugi)

Yakushima contains one of the largest tracts of existing Nansei Islands subtropical evergreen forests, an endangered habitat ecoregion.[8] The only large animals indigenous to the island are red-bottomed macaques (Yakushima macaque) and a variety of sika deer (yakushika). The Japanese raccoon dog is also a common animal, but is not native to the island. Japanese weasels (Mustela itatsi) may also be seen from time to time. The island is a spawning ground for migratory loggerhead turtles, and dolphins are to be found offshore. The coastal areas have coral reefs in places, although to a much lesser extent than are found farther south in the islands of Okinawa. The island, along with neighbouring Tanegashima, has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because they support populations of Japanese wood pigeons, Ryukyu green pigeons and Ryukyu robins.[9]

Yakushima is famous for its lush vegetation. Most of the island has at one time or another been logged (dating back at least to the early Edo period), but has been extensively replanted and reseeded since logging ended in the late 1960s, at which time a conservation regime was established. In addition to this secondary forest, there are some remaining areas of primary forest, composed mainly of a variety of Cryptomeria japonica, or Japanese cedar, known as yakusugi (屋久杉), the best known single example of which is named the Jōmon Sugi (縄文杉), as its age is estimated to date to at least the Jōmon period of Japanese history, 2300 years ago. In addition, the island lists over 50 varieties of endemic flower, notably rhododendrons, and hundreds of rare endemic Bryophyta, as well as a number of endemic trees.

Shiratani Unsuikyo valley ja:白谷雲水峡 (900m altitude)

Temperate forest near Yodogawa hut (1,400m altitude)

Kohananoe River in the high marshland (1,600m altitude)

Sub-alpine vegetation such as Yakushima rhododendron at Kuromidake ja:黒味岳 (1,800m altitude）

Yakushima has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with hot, humid summers and mild winters. Precipitation is extremely heavy, with at least 250 millimetres (9.8 in) in each month and as much as 773 millimetres (30.4 in) in June alone. Yakushima is Japan's wettest place,[10] and annual precipitation in Yakushima is one of the world's highest at 4,000 to 10,000 mm (160 to 390 in). It is said by the locals to rain "35 days a month". There are drier periods in autumn and winter, while the heaviest downpours occur in spring and summer, often accompanied by landslides. It is the southernmost place in Japan where there is snow in the mountains, often for months, while the ocean temperature is never below 19 °C (66 °F)

See or edit raw graph data.

There are several onsen (hot springs) on Yakushima.

• Onoma Onsen
• Yakushima Onsen
• Hirauchi underwater hot spring
• Yudomari Onsen
• Oura hot spring - originally a hot spring, but it's now a communal bath with boiling spring water
• Yodogawa Onsen
• Yunoko no Yu
• Jomon no Yado Manten - outpatient Bathing

• The forests of Yakushima inspired the forest setting in Hayao Miyazaki's film Princess Mononoke.[14]
• Yakushima is the inspiration behind the forest of Dremuchij in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.[15]
• Fictional characters Jun and Jin Kazama of Tekken lived on Yakushima.[16][17]
• Eiji Miyake, the protagonist of David Mitchell's novel number9dream, is from Yakushima. Parts of the novel take place in the narrator's childhood on the island.
• The island also featured prominently in the 1996 film Rebirth of Mothra. In the movie The Young Mothra swims to the island to transform into the new and more powerful Mothra taking its life essence and new powers from the eternal forest.
• The protagonists of Atlus's role-playing video game, Persona 3, visit Yakushima at the start of summer break.
• The first two episodes of the 2005 TV show, Kamen Rider Hibiki, take place primarily on Yakushima.
• The landscapes in Oni: Thunder God's Tale are inspired by Yakushima's forests. [18]

• Ernest Henry Wilson - Wilson stump
• List of Special Places of Scenic Beauty, Special Historic Sites and Special Natural Monuments
• List of World Heritage Sites in Japan
• List of national parks of Japan
• Ramsar sites in Japan

• Witham, Clive. Yakushima: A Yakumonkey Guide. Siesta Press. (2009) ISBN 0956150705

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Yaku-shima".

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yakushima.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Yakushima.

• UNESCO World Heritage Site Entry