YakuQuest 3: Cloudline to Shoreline

I left Shintakazuka-goya a little after seven, right between the first-wavers who departed at the crack of dawn (which was 6:30 as it's getting late in the year) and the people who were still cooking elaborate three-course breakfasts. I was surprised to see these big groups of hikers pulling out trays of meat, cheese, and vegetables; breaking out tsumami and cooling their beer in the mountain streams.. I packed for lightness and ate freeze-dried crap. Never thought I'd be longing for an MRE...


It was only an hour to Jomon Sugi, the most famous landmark on Yakushima. Some estimates place this massive tree at 7,200 of age, meaning it could have sheltered some of the primitive hunter-gatherers it takes it's name from. Last time I came the viewing platform was packed with people queuing for photos. Now it was only me and a handful of people. I took it in for almost half an hour, following the gnarled trunk skyward and watching the clouds drift behind the twisted branches and hanging epiphytes.


With a last peek at the okudake through the trees, it was time to descend. The day was hot with a sky of beautiful blue - an unusual occurrence on Yakushima - but under the canopy of leaves it was absolutely perfect hiking weather. Due to the sheer number of visitors the trail to Jomon Sugi is mostly boardwalk. It's usually very narrow (single-file) and the stairs are tedious and tiring-- all in all not a great hike. It does make it extremely easy so people of all fitness levels can access the marvels of Yakushima, which is of course a wonderful thing. But again, tradeoffs-- I knew my morning would consist of constantly stepping off the boardwalk to let crowds of ecotour groups pass. Spouting cheerful konnichiwas to unending parades of faces got old really fast.


Suddenly, one of the ojisans from the hut veered off the boardwalk ahead of me onto a small trail. I spotted a small sign in Japanese - "nature road to Wilson stump". Holy shit! He was unbelievably fast - I didn't see him again for several hours. So I spent the next hour alone in the blessed silence of the forest. The trail is moderately steep and I'm sure quite a bit longer, but it may have saved my sanity. It comes out right behind Wilson stump, the amazing remains of a gigantic sugi harvested around 400 years ago. To me, it looks like nothing so much as a hobbit-hole.

It was beautiful timing-- I had completely circumvented the crowds of people and had a clear path down the sun-dappled remains of an old logging railroad. The usual route is to hike out along the railroad, but I took a left at a junction to climb up Tsuji-toge pass so I could descend into Shiratani-Unsuikyo (白谷雲水峡), the white valley ravine of flowing clouds. From the top of the pass I took a short detour to climb Taikoiwa, a rocky peak that affords a nice view of the valley. I'm quite upset my crap camera can't capture the absolutely gorgeous scenery in Shiratani. It's a marvelous place, especially "The forest of Mononoke Hime". It was recently named thus because Miyazaki used scenery from this area for the deep and sacred abode of the Shinigami in his movie. Roots writhe towards you like rivers of snakes, water trickles around smooth rocks and twisted trees, and everything is blanketed in rich green moss.

I boiled some ramen at the Shiratani hut, the least pretty hut thus far (only because the toilet is inside, and it smells. Plenty of toilet paper, though). Then I had to decide. It was after three, and I could either take the bus from the Shiratani parking lot as per normal, or hike a trail down to sea level and catch the coastal bus at 5:45. It all came down to the fact that I really hate to wait.


An old (Edo period, 400 years) stone path runs through Shiratani. This path, the Kusugawa trail, branched off from the main throughway and I followed it. In Shiratani the moss was worn off the tops of the stones, but these were still covered by green. The path led through the forest and over two streams. I came to road crossing, and the sign said it was 100 minutes by the Kusugawa trail to the bottom. My LP Japan Hiking book said an hour, and I decided to trust that (despite its having screwed me over before). This would cause me considerable anxiety as it began to get dark, but I made it down in 55 so it was fine.

Even the lesser used trails in Yakushima are beautifully maintained. I had no problems. The Kusugawa trail largely follows that old stone path. It was built so islanders could carry shingles split from Yakusugi down to the sea to pay the heavy taxes levied by the Japanese mainland. The climate on Yakushima produces sugi with dense rings and much resin. Yakusugi lumber is incredibly weather-resistant and was very valuable for shingles. The men worked in the mountains felling trees and splitting shingles, and the women carried those shingles down to the ships. As I walked I thought of all those young women just like me, carrying their loads from the mountains to the sea. For some reason, that started to creep me out after a while. That, and the shrieking alarm-calls of the Yakushika (cute little deer) I startled on the trail.


A break in the trees, and there was the sea. At this point, with about 90 minutes left before my bus, I began to doubt my judgement. And right after that, things got a bit tough. It's not like I was expecting to skip down to sea level with a teacup in one hand and a scone in the other, but it got pretty steep. The stone path had given way to piles of mossy rock chunks and shards, which made for tricky footing. Eastern face of a mountain on the east side of the island, it really began to get dark. The trail flattened, and I was in ewok-land, tall rows of trees on a thick carpet of ferns.

Stepping clear of the treeline to see the clouds obscuring the peaks I had just descended from, seeing the sky spread above me after so long, and hearing deer-calls echo in the gloom from the forest behind me -- for one moment it was as if everything I could see and sense existed only for me.

Here's where things get kind of dumb.. I called my hostel to give an ETA, jumped up with a "Yosh!".. and pulled something. For the first time in my life. In my hip. And I'm leading a Tahitian exhibition in less than a week. Let's try a few hip rotations.. yeah that's not pleasant. Limped the last 3km to the bus stop. At the bus stop, there was a sign that read "Kusugawa Onsen, 15min walk". 'Hey, I walk pretty fast' I thought, 'I'll make it ten!' Took me twenty, and I had to skip the onsen to catch my bus.

Dinner was a Yakushima specialty: deep fried flying fish that you can eat head, wings and all. I love Yakushima.