Yakusugi land
...written on 02.11.03, @ 3:26 a.m.
Mon February 10, 2003
Temperature is on the way up again and I am gritting my teeth against the pain. I've just taken yet another supposed remedy. Let's hope it helps.
To try and keep my mind off of it, I shall continue the Oshogatsu journey.
Ok, I left off at the port city of Kagoshima, with a picture of that purply smoking volcano (Sakurajima) in the distance. We boarded the jet foil and were rewarded with a smooth 85 minute journey to Yakushima.
Yakushima is about 60 km south-southwest of Cape Sata on the Osumi Peninsula. It has a surface area of about 500 sq km and is roughly circular in shape with a population of almost 15,000 people and that many deer and monkeys as well. Mountains account for 90% of the total surface area.
We got off the ferry and walked to the nearest souvenir shop to inquire about how to get to the Youth Hostel, bus schedules etc. We had a good few hours of daylight left and wanted to take advantage of it.
We boarded the bus and in about a half an hour had the driver let us off at what looked like the middle of nowhere. As we struggled to get through the skinny aisle with our bulky bags, I took a glance back and registered all the furrowed brows and concerned whipsers.
It takes about 3 hours to go around the island completely and some of the roads are impassable by bus, so one must rely on rental cars or taxis. We checked the time for the next bus before we followed the small sign that indicated where we could find the Pillow lava field of the Tashiro Coast.
This was one of the most refreshing walks I've ever had in Japan. No telephone wires, no car noises, no sweet potato ads blaring on car megaphones, just the crunch of the rocks beneath our feet and the warbling of the birds.
In twenty minutes we were on the craggy lava beach watching the waves crash into shore. I looked at all the pillow lava formations and nodded in assent, yep, those rock lumps looked to have just about the same firmness of a real Japanese pillow.
We walked back up to the busstop and caught the next bus to the Youth Hostel. Reminder to self: It's always a good idea to ask people if they know where something is. Our youth hostel was listed as being in the city, but was a good out of the way drive.
I always meant to take pictures of the youth hostel because I really liked it. It looked very new and alpine woodsy with a brightly lit community room, and nice public baths, but I never got around to it.
It was New Year's Eve and the hostel had planned a big celebration which we opted out of as we wanted an early start the next morning. We had decided that Yakushima without a car wasn't going to be easy to travel and that we might have to forego seeing some of the things we really wanted to see.
The heater in our dorm style room of 2 bunk beds and 6 futons was attached to a money box that had a handwritten sign on it that said "Don't Use." People, it was too frigging COLD up thar in them mountains! The second night we finally got the keeper to bring in a gas heater, but the comfort provided was small.
Veronica and I went to the nearest store and bought some provisions for the next couple of days because the Japanese take the New Year holidays seriously and nothing was going to be open.
In the morning we went to the kitchen after having paid our 100 yen each for use of the gas stove and cooked breakfast. Usually eggs, toast, bacon, coffee, the usual fare. We had pasta and potatoes for dinner, that kind of thing.
After breakfast we heard a couple of women planning their trip to Yakusugi land. They had rented a small car and were going up to walk the forest. After a little negotiation, an inital refusal, and then an invitation, we all piled into the teeny rent-a-car.
As usual, I took some dramamine. Good thing, as the roads wended about as wildly as our driver navigated them.
We encountered a monkey and the Japanese women squealed and said they were scared. Veronica asked them if it was because of their scary faces and they said no, it was because if they hit one they would have to pay for damage to the car.
We got to the gate of Yakusugi land which has elevations ranging from 1,000-1300 m and is home to primary forest containing cedar trees thousands of years old. The cryptomeria (cedar) tree is especially dear to the Shinto religion and you can usually find clumps of them shading the tori gates.
We hiked past beautiful streams and rivers, crossed swinging bridges, saw an 1800 year old cedar tree as well as a 2600 year old one. The prized Yakusugi tree, Jomon sugi, the grandpa at 7600 years old was beyond our reach on a more difficult trail that would take 4-5 hours to reach. We also didn't get to see Wilson's stump, which has a circumference of 13.8 meters. The hollow stump area is 16.5 meters and 30 adults can stand up inside it.
Since I hadn't planned on this trip anyway, all I had to hike in were my dress shoes from work, but they handled the twists and turns of the trail that diverted from the paved or wooden sidewalks well, and I was warm enough as long as we kept moving.
After we finished the trails, I hit the souvenir stand replete with cedar chopsticks, hair berets, you name it, it was there in cedar. The cedar used to make the products comes from cedar that falls to the ground.
We flew down the mountain (apparently to take advantage of the daylight) and made our way to Senpiro-no-taki (Senpiro waterfall).
After that we stopped at a charming cafe art gallery. We treated our hosts to curry rice, coffee and dessert for lunch. I also bought some postcards of the natural sculptures made out of wood, and shell that were on display there. The artist had taken them out to the beach or the river and posed them like forest spirits ala Princess Mononoke.
Our friends let us off at the hostel and we took advantage of the quietude to chill out, take a bath, read, etc. We were to leave in the morning and I wanted to do laundry. I had packed extremely light, so I was out of anything to rotate into.
Apparently we were very lucky with the weather. The three days that we were there, it didn't rain at all. The locals say that it rains in Yakushima 35 days a month. We were on the lower half of the island, though and it doesn't get the quantity of rain that the north end gets.
At the ferry station I went looking for dramamine. The ladies at the booth said it was a good day and that I wouldn't need it, but I insisted. I can't turn around without getting dizzy and I didn't want to take any chances.
This ferry ride took us four hours. We all piled onto what looked kind of like a cruise ship and everyone staked out their own chair, or piece of floor and settled in for the trip. Smooth and uneventful. Just the way I like ferry crossings to be.
As soon as we hit Kagoshima we boarded a fast train to Hakata. We wanted to stay in the capsule hotel and try and get some coffee and cheese cake before turning in. We got in Hakata very late and my traveling partner was too bushed to go anywhere, so we just settled in.
The next morning we had coffee and the best cheesecake in the world and went to see an exhibit of Asian art. I really liked Hakata as a city. It was cool, jazzy, and sophisticated.
Before we left Hakata, I called an old beau of mine from long ago and told him we were coming to his city. He invited us to stay at his house for the night. That part, my dear readers, shall be known as "The Saga of Sogo".
To be continued . . .