Yakushima Island: an enchanted beauty of Japan
Yakushima, a Japanese island is located in the south of Kyushu and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1993. It’s an extensive rainforest subjected to an eternal flood, as the rainfall of this island is one of the highest in the world. Water is the cause of the appearance of this place enchanted forest. In the dense forest of Yakushima, moisture, moss, fungi, the leaden sky, fog and countless other species known as Sugi tree, which branches and trunks are strange figures, as they are the protagonists of an unusual stage appearance, leading a somewhat enchanted forest like something out of a story; grey skies crowded with clouds, usually take some respite, leaving a small space for the sun, so can hardly stick out the clouds, even for a moment. Yakushima Island has an area of 500 km ² and only about 15,000 inhabitants. Is located south of the main island of Kyushu, and has a mountainous landscape with peaks as Miyanoura-Dake, the highest peak of the island.
The island is known worldwide for its dense forests and high humidity as it receives an average of 7,000 mm of rain per year. The enchanted forest of Yakushima is famous for its strange landscapes and is visited by thousands of tourists annually, also is considered a leading destination resort in Japan. Staying on the island is not easy because the services supply is not too wide, but there is a web hosting site offers from 180 Euros, which is the only hotel on the island located at the peak of a mountain.
This is a round-shaped island about 60 kilometers in the south of the Osumi Peninsula in Kagoshima. It has an area of 513 km2 of which 96% is a humid forest; the island has become one of the places more visited by nature lovers and exotic landscapes. One of the main features of this island is that the trees grow disproportionately, reaching 70 meters in height. In fact, the symbol of the island is a tree called Jomon-sugi, according to estimates, is about 7,200 years. It seems like a copy of cedar Yaku-sugi, endemic to Japan, which grows between 1,000 and 1,500 meters above sea level, surrounded by mist and taking strange shapes. This island of Yakushima contains at least 2,000 cedars that are over 1,000 years old.
On the island you can also visit the Onsen Hirauchi Kaichu where you can canoeing or bathe in warm water from waterfalls; the rainfall is one of the highest in the world, with stunning downpours can generate landslides, especially in spring and summer. Various routes were built for guides or visit the town of Yakushima, in the fourteenth century. Forests of Yakushima is famous for its odd corners; in autumn a dance festival that attracts over 600,000 visitors celebrated. The city is in the northwest of the island, facing the Bay of Kagoshima or Kinko Bay.
You can also climb the Monte Miyanoura Dake, 1935 meters high, or can visit the Kirishima volcano, currently still active. Yakushima Island is covered by dense forest that covered by the extreme humidity, reaches recreate explosive atmospheres dense greenery, decked out by the weird and wonderful shapes of branches as well as trees.
