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You will have to take….what I like to call the ‘Hairy Monkey Drive’. This is an extremely narrow drive along the Western side of the island and a great place to see many monkeys behaving badly. The best way to get around the island is by renting a car. Even the lovely staff at the car rental place will warn you of this very winding cliff side drive.

The view however is spectacular!

There is also a beach 35 minutes drive from the Miyanoura Port called ‘Nagata Inaka-hama’ Beach or better know as ‘turtle beach’ to the foreigners. This is the one spot on the island where turtles come up onto land and lay their eggs.  Spawning season is from mid May to mid July.

About 5 minutes drive from the ‘Turtle Beach’ is Yakushima Light House. Like any good light house it had a very eerie feel about it.

There are also a large number of beautiful waterfalls on Yakusima Island. We counted approximately 30 waterfalls on our way up Mt. Miyanoura-dake. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name of this one.

But, I do remember this one! This waterfall is called ‘Ono-no-taki’ or ‘Great River Falls’. According to my research this is the highest waterfall in Southern Kyushu with a drop of about 80 metres. This is by far the most breathe-taking waterfall on the island.

I had to leave the best picture till last. Check out this outdoor hot spring bath right on the ocean’s edge. And you have got to love the partition between the men and women! This may be a little confronting for some, but how’s the serenity!! Go back to your roots I say!

The end!

Welcome to Yakushima a small Island off the Southern Coast of Japan. Only a 35 minute plane ride from Kagoshima Airport (please excuse the advertisement for JAL).

Yakushima is almost a complete circle and takes approximately 3 hours to drive around. There is a twisting rugged coastal road on the Western side of the Island, called the Monkey Drive – only for the strong hearted…. But a great place to find playful red-faced monkeys.

 The landscape is very similar to tropical North Queensland with lush rainforests and crystal blue swimming holes (not your usual image of Japan). The highlight of the Island is the Jomon-Sugi  which is said to be between 6300-7200 years old! The oldest Cedar Tree in the world!! As the Japanese would say - ‘Berry Berry Old Tree’. The only thing is,  it takes a 5 to 6 hour hike up the mountain to be able to witness this monster of a tree.

As I am not much of a hiker, I went to the best next thing – 1000-2000 year old tree, which I think from memory is called the Daio-Sugi.

Along the way you can meet a few friends……this one looks a little evil, but very nice in person.

And check out the breath taking views from Mt. Miyanoura-dake, the highest peak on the Island.

To be continued…………..

From here we head some to Takachiho, located in Miyazaki prefecture.

Takachiho has a beautiful gorge where you can do some short walks and row a cute boat along the bottom of the gorge. It is not a big area but very quaint.

Next stop was Mt Aso

Now this is a remote area with very few buses running to the lookout and no English signs. For the first time ever, we hitchhiked up as we had to wait 2 hours for the next bus!! Luckily for us a grandma and grandpa couple picked us up in their flash sedan and even though we could barely communicate we were treated so kindly with continuous supplies of chocolates and hot chips being passed over the back seat! Only in Japan……If the weather is not good, then you can not take the ropeway to the top and not much can been seen – this happened to us. But friends who have also visited Mt Aso were in luck and raved about the walks and views from the top.

Day Two – Shiretoko 5 Lakes, Furepe Waterfall and Akanko

Just a short drive from Utoro you will find yourself in the Shiretoko `5 Lakes’ district. All 5 are impressive in their own subtle way but the one thing they all share is their high reflective quality of the water. One may mistake the reflection for the real thing!

It’s an easy walk from one to another, with walks taking as long as 2 hours. From time to time these walks are closed due to sightings of Brown Bears. The best way to avoid a meeting a bear is to hang a big brass bell of your backpack as this is meant to be a deterrent. So don’t be alarmed if you are walking anywhere in the Shiretoko area and hear faint bells in the distance, it’s a safety measure!

From here I traveled to Furepe Waterfall, about 15 minutes drive away. I really felt like I wasn’t in Japan anymore. Guess that my image was always of a busy and concrete country but in Hokkaido is the complete opposite.

It’s another easy drive from here down to Akan where I stayed one night in a traditional ryokan. One thing that you can notice as soon as you step out of the car, is a strong sulphur smell.  It’s amazing actually just how quickly you get accustomed to it! `Me-Akan’ is an active volcano located just outside Akan city which emits a bright yellow sulphur gas.

One of the most famous things about Akan is that in AkanLake you can find what is called `Marimo’ which is perfectly formed balls of moss at the bottom of the lake. They are no small either, more like the size of a fit ball. Souvenir shops that everything from key rings to ear wax pickers with this figure.

Whilst walking around in in Akan I came across this little monkey in the shop front. He is tied up but seems to be a point of interest in this town.

Whilst in Hokkaido I found it fascinating to spend some time looking around an Ainu Kotan `AinuVillage’.

It is located just on the outskirts of Akan. `Ainu’ is the name of the native Japanese people, who mainly live in Northern parts of Japan. When walking through the village I was met by extremely friendly people more than willing to explain a bit about their culture

The owl is the protector of the village and therefore being a very sacred animal. While the village sleeps they are watching over it for predators and able to alert when danger is approaching. The most amazing craft that I saw in this village were the statues of Ainu people that had been hand carved out of tree trunks. The attention to details is astonishing and I had to do a double take to check if they were in fact alive! I’m sure you can understand with these images!

This is just a taste of what adventures are to be had if you can make it to the Eastern side of Hokkaido. It is a very accessible area which is a perfect opportunity to tap into this culturally rich and lusciously green island!

Thanks for taking this journey with me. Look out for my next blog coming soon!!!

Sakura

One of the best trips I have to say in my time in Japan was getting up to the Northern area of Hokkaido, around Memambetsu, and then driving to the edge of Shiretoko National Park then back down through Akan to Kushiro. I definitely recommend driving as the public transport is very limited. The island is easy to drive around too, well sign posted with an abundance of wide straight roads.

I drive along the coastline from Memambetsu to Abashiri and Shari before arriving at Utoro. Utoro is located at the bottom of ShiretokoNational Park. I stayed at great ryokan ` Kitakobushi’, which had a lavender onsen, massive buffet and spacious rooms with picturesque views of the ocean.

Out my window was a fishery which caught thousands of salmon each morning. Boat after boat docked, unloaded the hordes then sailed back out. This area is especially famous for crab so I was very excited to hit the buffet and see the crab legs piled up for eating!!!

Endless goodness!!!

I think one thing that I will always remember about this ryokan was when we checked out. One of the staff waited for us to get in our car and as we drove off, she bowed and stayed at a 90 degree angle until we were out of sight! Customer service is second to none in this country.

Hokkaido is being increasingly popular for its flower fields. If you are able to make it to Furano in Spring, you will be touched by vast fields of mauve for as far as the eye can see. They even have lavender goods, ranging from more common products like perfumes and pouches for your drawers to the more unusual like ICECREAM!!

Whilst driving between Abashiri and Utoro, I just stumbled across this beautiful and immaculately placed flower field.

Even though Niseko in Hokkaido is probably the most famous city to visit in Winter to ski for Aussie’s, areas like Furano, Rusutsu and Shiretoko are fast becoming Spring and Summer destinations perfect for the families, independent travelers or groups.

During Summer in Japan (June to October in Australia) we offer a great 4 Day Trip of Eastern Hokkaido, so please contact us at Travel Japan for further detail!

This is just the beginning for this trip of mine so please keep an eye out for the second part `Day Two’ as I continue my way along the coast than inland!!

Sakura