Yakushima

Yakushima

I am back from a week-long trip to Yakushima, a small mountainous island off the Southern tip of Japan with some of the oldest and largest cedar trees in the country, the oldest of which is estimated to be around 7000 years old. Islands and mountains are both are notable for their variable weather. As Yakushima is essentially a mountain in the sea it has a highly unpredictable climate. When I first saw the island I half expected to see a Pterodactyl swoop out of the clouds holding Doug McClure in its beak...

Hiring a car using Japanese

It has been really gratifying to use my basic Japanese skills since I arrived here. Being able to book hostel rooms, hire cars and chat to people on my way round has been a real thrill. As Yakushima is a tricky place to get around using public transport, I decided to cough up for the hire of a car for the time I was there, something which I would not be able to do in English.

Japanese has very few distinct sounds so there are many words which sound similar and it can be easy to make a real mess of things. For example けさ (kesa - this morning) sounds similar to かさ (kasa - umbrella). The two which always give me problems are やすい (yasui - cheap) and やさい (yasai - vegetable). With this in mind I walked up to the car rental office determined to ask for the 'cheapest car' rather than the 'most vegetable' car. Thankfully, I got it right and there were no major cock-ups and in a short time I was presented with the following typically small and silly Japanese car.

It also had a fantastic name...

Summit

The highest peak is just under 2,000m tall and on my first full day there I spent 7 or so hours hiking to the summit.

For once, my head was above the clouds rather than in them.

Monkeys in Road

One of the more unusual road-hazards you find on the island.

Unusual but not uncommon.

Technically a macaque rather than a monkey, these little rascals were often to be seen lazing about on the quieter sections of the road which circles Yakushima, picking fleas off each other. I also saw quite a few while I was hiking which worried me a bit as I had heard a few stories about people having been attacked by them but I didn't have any problems.

Praying Mantis

Guess what I found on the step of the youth hostel.

Lighthouse

Forest pictures

Pictures from some of the many hikes I went on.

Storm at sea

Cheap dinner

The picture below is of last night's dinner. Japan can be expensive, particularly when it comes to travel, but it can also be surprisingly cheap. The meal below cost me ¥750 which is just under £4.

Next stop...

...Fukuoka. I was in Nagasaki yesterday and had planned to go to Hiroshima for a few days but after having heard about the Sumo tournament just about to start in Fukuoka I decided to come here instead. I have a ticket for tomorrow. The action starts at 8:30 am and run until 6 in the evening so I will need to lay off the beers tonight ;-)