I’m planning on going to Yaskushima Island and turn it into a few day hiking trip. Just curious is anyone has recommendations for where good spots are to stay. Thought that with so many places to go and from my understanding limited transportation, I was thinking of getting a hotel to start and return to everyday and branch out. Main area is I want to do the Shiratani Unsui Gorge Course.
Or for people who have been there, do you recommend just renting a bicycle or car?
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I stayed near the port, first day I arrived in the afternoon, second just go around the island and ended up getting friend with a girl who had a rental car, that makes it much easier to go all around the island. Last day took the first but to shirtani unsuikyo, did the hike, stopped by my accommodation to pick my bag before taking the ferry.
Depending on what exactly you want to do, car rental can be a good idea for at least a day.
Rent a car.
Miyanoura in the northeast and Anbo in the east are the two best areas to stay, but south around Hirauchi/Onoaida is another option. This will put you a bit farther away from the figurative “center” of town, though. Most of the restaurants, etc. are around Miyanoura and Anbo.
You can do a hotel, but there are plenty of Airbnb or room stays that you can rent out, as well.
Beaches are fantastic and fairly empty, depending on when you’re visiting.
A few popular onsens, including a couple open air and one right on the ocean.
I can recommend the following restaurants and cafes to you:
Panorama, Shiosai, Hachimanjyu Chaen, Nomado Cafe, Iso no Kaori, Wakadaisho, Peita Bakery, Smiley Cafe
There are plenty more. We make sure to hit up those first 3 on every trip, though.
For hiking, Shiratani Unsuikyo and Yakusugiland are the 2 most popular spots, not counting Jomon Sugi. Jomon Sugi is, I believe, a 10 hour hike round trip.
We rented motorbikes one afternoon on our last trip and plan on doing it again. A lot of fun.
It seems that my previous post was auto removed, maybe for including links. The good resources I linked were yakumonkey, yesyakushima, yakushimatourism, and yakushimalife.
I stayed at the Orange House / Cottage Orange (it’s listed on AirBnB). It’s right next to the airport. It’s very spacious and you have a lot of privacy. The owner lives next door and he speaks English. He used to live in NY.
Definitely rent a car if you can. It makes it so much easier to get around the island. I was able to rent a car through the Yes Yakushima website. If you reach out to them, they will set up the rental for you.
Yakushima is really cool. I did the Shiratani hike as well. Definitely visit the Ohko Waterfall.
Rent a car! Make sure you get an international drivers license before you leave to Japan. There were at least two guest inns that advertised they spoke English a few years ago. Someone self published a book with trail maps and guides in English that was quite helpful for us. For sure bring enough water and real hiking shoes.