In April 2000 we saw on the calender that we had a string of holidays coming up. However as guests had been to visit us and we were expecting more we didn't have the time, or money to leave Japan. So what should we do, we thought? We decided to take a bicycle trip far, but not that far. After thinking of an appropriate destination we settled on Yakushima. Here is a short description of Yakushima that can be found on their official homepage.

Yakushima Island Yakushima Island is located 70 kilometers south of Sata Point, the southern tip of Kyushu. The island is circular, with an area of about 500 square kilometers. There are seven mountains, each of which is around 1,800 meters high. Accordingly, the island's climate ranges from subarctic to subtropical. It is well known for its climate and its unique botanical characteristics. Yakushima Island has an annual rainfall of 4,000 millimeters on the coast and more than 8,000 millimeters in the mountains. The forests of Yakusugi Japanese cedars are thousands of years old. They are called Jomon cedars, and they grow together with evergreen forests. In 1993, UNESCO listed Yakushima Island as a World Heritage site in accordance with the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and National Heritage.

The place sounded interesting and it certainly was. Below you can find a map and according travelogue that details what we did and saw. At the bottom of this page are some exerpts from Sarah's diary that take a literary look at what we experienced.

Day 1 - left Hondo at 5:30 at night. Biked 45 km to Ushibuka. Ate and camped. A beautiful ride right during dusk.

Day 2 - Caught a ferry from Ushibuka to Kagoshima prefecture. After a lot of confusion consulting the locals about our map we got to some serious biking. Hightlight of the day was making it up a 7km climb. Camped at Irika a hot spring town. When we went to the spring though we were shocked there was no soap and shampoo as we were counting on. This began Sarah's quest to go the whole trip without shampooing her hair.

Day 3- Easily the worst day of the trip. Woke up and it was raining. Packed up and biked 40 km in the rain. Got to Kagoshima and it was still raining. There was no where to camp so we waited until the ferry port closed for the day and then set up our tent on the cement just outside the building. Not too comfortable

Day 4 - Woke up and the sun was shining and our hanging stuff was dry. What a feeling to finally be dry after being wet for so long. Took the 8:45 ferry to our destination, Yakushima. It was a beautiful ferry ride past volcanoes, dolphins and beautiful coast line.

Day 4 - arrived at Yakushima at 12:30. Bought dinner and breakfast and hit the road. Biked until 6:30 along a beautiful deserted road. This stretch of the island is virtually unihabitated if you don't count monkeys and deer. The coastline is beautiful to see from the road and there are some waterfalls to stop and see.

Day 5 - Not such a demanding day. Biked back to civilization and went to a hot spring for a bath. Since we didn't have to many clothes a long we washed by hand some of our dirty clothes. They dry best when you wear them wet. Camped that night on a beautiful beach. Also made friends with a fellow biker who was the same age as us and who has his own computer graphics company.

Day 6 - Yakushima is famous for its old cedar trees and on this day we left our bikes at our camp and took a bus up the mountain to a good place to start a hike. From there we hiked about 22 km there and back through an amazing forest. The forest was so old. There was moss that was a few inches thick growing on trees. And the famous trees were amazing. Huge, old trees. Thousands of years old. Simply an amazing forest and hike

Day 7 - Biked back to the port and took the ferry back to Kagoshima city. After that it was time to head back to Hondo and home. The ride home took 2 days and not 3 so we were relieved to come a little early and catch up on some sleep before school again

Excerpts from Sarah's Diary on Yakushima

"We are over halfway through our "Great Biking Adventure," as Dan first called it. We are in Anbo, now, a village about three quarters around Yakushima, on the east side. We put our tent up along a beach tonight for the second night. This is the first time on this trip that we've stayed somewhere for two nights. I noticed the ground seemed a little harder the second night. Our tent is placed on a flat bit of ground between the sharp, black, jutting rocks bordering the rhythmic ocean waves and the soft, green forest behind. It's flat here and relatively soft, with short, stubbly grass and while flowers; I found wild lilies just 10 meters from our tent. We are just 30 meters from the ocean, and yet, pools of fresh water dive like small craters all around us. Dan thinks the ocean, years ago, must have carved out these pools. The water in them is cool and fresh--great for soothing aching, smelly feet at night and for getting the sleepers out of the eyes in the morning.

"Yesterday we were off our bikes for most of the day, a first on this trip. We hiked to "Jomon Sugi," the oldest tree in the world. What impressed me was not the tree itself (for it had been made into a boys' tree fort of sorts--wooden staircases leading up to the tree where men stood guard--and the voices of too many gatherers covered up the natural sounds of the deep forest) but the path that led us there. Disused railroad tracks led us through the first part of the hike, through the thinner part of the forest. After 5 km, we entered the thick forest. The path was made difficult by the roots of the surrounding trees, tangled and sprawling, some as big as the trunks of small trees. The trunks of these roots' trees stood solidly lining the path, gnarled, thick and strong, stretching to the top of the forest, far, far, above. Some grew in strange shapes, twisting over and back, horizontally and then vertically, forming natural benches and hoops. The roots of some protruded above the ground, joining together finally in a trunk somewhere above our heads. Thick moss formed a padding around these trees, nourished by the wetness which lay everywhere. Water--nourishment, cleanness--dripping from moss-covered rocks, from trees, rushing through streams, down small falls. Water was felt in the soft mesh of leaves and soil under our feet. It made everything living and green--even the dead. Old, decaying trees, covered with a living, green moss. The air itself was green. All is one in the forest. All is dependent on each other. Death feeds life. Everything, solidly entangled amongst itself. Beautiful pictures of interdependence. . . "

"It's after the fact now, so I won't detail what we did everyday. My immediate perceptions are long gone and impossible to bring back. Or maybe I'm just too lazy. Anyway, immediate perceptions are the most honest, and so without them, I move on.

"I loved our trip. I felt more child-like excitment before it then I had in a long, long time. Everything these days seems the same--merely extensions of one experience. But this plan was out of the ordinary for me--traveling, relying only on the strength of my body. No planes, no trains, no hotels, no suitcase. Only a bicycle, a tent, and one change of clothes. A bicycle allows you to really see your journey. Every km is counted; town names are memorized; landmarks are marked: Iriki, the small, onsen town where we camped in a farmer's clover field; the long hill in the middle of Miyanojo town; the dreaded mountain before Miyanojo; the ramen shop where we stopped in the rain and asked direction; the overhang across the street where we waited till the rain slowed; Kamo, the village where an old man offered us Cokes; the Korean Kimuchi stand, and the one next to it with the friendly ladies who sold vegetables and offered us breakfast one morning. Things pass by slowly on a bike and with lots of space between them--space that allows you to let them sink and settle in. Traveling by bicycle is good.

"And what an experience to live so freely and spontaneously! Not knowing where you will sleep or eat or bathe. Using, or should I say "abusing," public facilities: washing sweaty socks in onsens, or going to convenient stores' bathrooms to brush your teeth every morning. Living out of a backpack with one change of clothes and a sleeping bag: a lifestyle which doesn't accumulate stuff. Not pretending to be dependent of nature, but rather depending on it: sun and wind to dry, spring water to quench thirst, grass to sleep on, pools of water to soak tired feet in, tree braches to hang wet clothes on, sun to cleanse, dew to cleanse. "These things are so satisfying to me. . . "