Tuesday 21st July 2009 - To Yakoshima

An early start saw us taking a 7am train to Haneda for a 9am flight to Kagoshima. Things got a bit hairy when the plane half of the group were on develops faults before take off which meant they had to change to another plane causing them to be delayed by about an hour. When we arrived at Kagoshima it was raining quite heavily. A 40 minute taxi ride took us to the “toppy” landing where we boarded “Toppy5” for a 2 hour trip to Yakushima. I slept most of the way on the plane and hydrofoil and so arrived at Yakushima feeling dreadful. However the place just changed that almost immediately. The rain had stopped by time we arrived and it was very hot. The only way I can describe my first impression of the island is that it looked like the island off Jurassic Park; green, high mountains with deep clefts totally covered by trees. 

Ferry Terminal, Yakushima

This was the first time I’d got the “buzz” I’d been waiting for since getting to Japan. This was what I expected. We spent the afternoon at the visitor centre before being taken to our ryokan, Minshuken Ryoken, in Miyanoura, Yakoshima. 

Minshuken Ryoken,  Yakoshima

This was a traditional Japanese affair; shoes off  at the door, wooden flooring in communal areas, tatami matting in the rooms and a proper Onsen. I shared with Suzanne and Nicky and after dinner we went for a walk to the beach. Don’t think we made it to the beach we were directed to it but we did find a small cove with sand, stones, sea and flotsam and jetsam.

Before bed I had a shower but didn’t partake of the whole onsen experience. That’s for tomorrow!