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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!

Morning activity entailed a walk along the Akan Lake, which sounds nice and relaxing but little did I realise that the day’s temperature was -2 degrees!

My warmest winter down jacket wasn’t enough, so the hotel was kind enough to lend me some of theirs.

Once all rugged up the crisp air was quite refreshing, your body feels so pure with all that oxygen going into your lungs.

I’m sure the walk is lovely when it’s a little warmer. I would love to come back around August to do some longer trekking.

Water around this part of the lake was warm. Apparently, it’s the hot spring coming through from underground. 

Here’s the view of our hotel from distance. A real prime location as you can see.

We were treated to a room with a view, a panorama of Akan Lake.

We were given 10 minutes to check in and get changed into more respectable attire for a business dinner.  

And, here is the banquet, yes this was for one person and yes that is only the entrée. I couldn’t keep up with the food that came in so this is the only pic sorry!

My favourite dish of the night was the stewed flounder, so tender you can eat everything, and of course, individually steamed rice is my weakness too.

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…………..

We stayed in New Akan Hotel Shangri-la.

No, it is no way related to the internationally famous hotel chain.

A keen observer in our group pointed out that the hotel must have been around longer, for it to be still operating under this name.

It was a really nice accommodation though, rooms traditionally Japanese style and spacious.

The thing that I was most looking forward to was the hot spring bath located on the rooftop, heaven. (photo courtesy of New Akan Shangri-la Hotel)

More exciting part of the day was approaching, cruise on Akan Lake.

The only thing was that it was so cold for May! Luckily, seats on the boat were heated so we were able to enjoy the cruise comfortably.

During the cruise, we made a short stop at an island in the middle of the Akan Lake to see some Marimo Exhibits.

Before coming to this part of Hokkaido, all I knew about Marimos were that they were just large moss balls that fascinated many Japanese people and are made into lots of merchandise for some unknown reason.  

Apparently, there is more to it than that but I won’t bore you with the details. You’ll just have to go there to learn for yourself!

Or go to the good old trusted Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marimo

After lunch and 5 min free time (you will need to make time for any airports in Hokkaido, great place for shopping!!!), we were off to do some sightseeing.

We went in the midst of the swine flu scare but we were not scared as you can see: No buildings, no people, no civilisation.

We briefly stopped at Tokachi Wine factory.

I knew Hokkaido was famous for wine but I’m not much of a winery person, so I am not sure this is recommendable place to visit. I do remember seeing lots and lots of wine as you can see.

Hi there, Ume again with another gastronomic trip.

This time, I went to the Eastern part of Hokkaido, famous for ice breaking cruise at Abashiri and Lake Akan National Park.

This part of Hokkaido is for nature lovers but no skiing on this trip.

If you do NOT like civilization this part of Japan is for you!

In the morning, we flew to Obihiro Airport (am not sure why, I can only assume that flights to Kushiro was full).

By the time we arrived, it was already time for lunch!

Lunch was Tokachi Wagyu beef sirloin steak set (phew! That was a mouthful).

I wasn’t aware that Tokachi Wagyu was famous but it must be as Tokachi area is so famous for dairy products!

Steak was done all medium rare, tender and moist.

There were a couple of pieces that stayed in my mouth for longer than I would have liked but I’m not complaining!

The use of Australian UHF-CB and New Zealand PRS is strictly prohibited in Japan.