The entirety of Kagoshima Prefecture's nature island Yakushima has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located between 2.5 and 4 hours off the coast of Kagoshima City (depending on whether you choose to take the slow or fast ferry), Yakushima is best known for an abundance of beautiful scenery and hiking paths that wind through a millennium old cedar forest.
This temperate rain forest is unique in that snow is often visible on the highest mountain peak of Miyanoura-dake, while the rest of the island remains blanketed in lush vegetation and warm 66 degree weather.
For me, my trip to Yakushima was probably the most difficult aspect of my Kyushu vacation, due largely to the fact that I didn't have a solid travel plan and failed to thoroughly research the location before I climbed on the ferry.
As I quickly learned, Yakushima Island is big! So big in fact, that a rental car becomes a near necessity. I opted to stay on the southern coast of the island near what I am calling the "onsen district." The baths looked picturesque enough in my tourist pamphlet. However, a bus ride from the northernmost port of Miyanoura to the southern tip of the island took over one hour and cost over 15 dollars.
I spent the night in a small "minshuku," quite literally in the middle of nowhere. The word "minshuku" is often translated into English as a "bed and breakfast," though, in my case, there was no food available at the establishment. My wooden, cabin-style room was actually a small portable building built out back behind the owner's house. There was a table, a futon, a sink, and a kerosene heater. The heater didn't work.
My night's sleep was less than ideal due mainly to the non-functioning heater. Also problematic was the giant family (lovers?) quarrel that erupted seemingly right outside my window. I shivered in my futon while listening to a youngish Japanese man growl curse words at a frightened sounding woman. At one point she ran off and was shrieking for her father. Somehow or another I eventually fell asleep.
Since dinner was not provided, I had to fend for myself. Because my map indicated that all the food establishments were clustered around the two ports, my bright idea was to walk the short distance from my minshuku to the nearby port of Anboh and get something to eat. I would have preferred to take the bus, but, being a sparsely populated island and all, the buses stopped running around 4 PM.
Upon setting out on foot, I quickly ran into a significant problem; I couldn't see. I tend to have pretty crummy night vision as it is, but I mean I couldn't see a thing. It was as if my eyes were closed.
There are virtually no streetlamps in Yakushima, so the only help I got was from the few stray cars that occasionally whizzed down the road. During our brief moment of overlap, the path ahead of me would become illuminated and I would do my best to ingrain any potentially hazardous obstacles before the car disappeared from sight and I was once again shrouded in complete and total darkness.
Blinded by the night, I moved forward with caution. My arms outstretched like a tightrope walker, I made sure to tap my foot against the concrete curb every eight paces or so, in order to make sure that I didn't inadvertently plunge off the end of the sidewalk and end up bleeding in the street.
I walked for what seemed like 30 minutes. In actuality, I was only walking for around 15 minutes, but the darkness plays mind games with you. Much like the thirsty traveler wading through the desert sand, who eventually collapses from exhaustion and welcomes his fate with the buzzards, I eventually gave up my search for food. With no shining food lights on the horizon and one fall to the pavement under my belt, I lost hope, turned around, and went home.
My subsequent plan was to ignore my rumbling tummy and visit an onsen to take a nice relaxing bath. Grabbing the provided hand towel, I began tromping off through the dark, this time in the opposite direction towards Yudomari Onsen. What I found was an onsen unlike any other.
Yudomari, and the other onsen like it around Yakushima, are actually small rock caves that have been dug into the shoreline. Warm ocean water literally flows directly into the rocky receptacle and creates the bathwater.
Because Yudomari is a natural onsen in the purest sense, the tidal cycle was posted on a sign near the entrance, to inform visitors exactly when they could expect water in their tub. One difference that immediately caught my attention was that the onsen was completely unmanned. A small metal box with the characters "200 Yen" printed on it was the only form of gatekeeper present.
I hesitantly shuffled down the path made of jagged ocean rocks in order to make my way to the tub. It goes without saying that there were no lights in this area of Yakushima either, so seeing was next to impossible. My new personal goal became actively avoiding impaling myself on a rock.
After stripping off my clothes and stuffing important items like my glasses and watch into my shoes for safe keeping, I plunged into the pool. There were already two Japanese men enjoying the water, and due to the tiny size of the tub, it really did seem like three bodies was pushing the comfort capacity.
We exchanged a few pleasant greetings, but, because I literally could not make out their faces in the darkness, the three of us largely sat in silence and competed to see who could create the best sighs of relaxation. It was not difficult at all to relax in the tub. While I cannot say that I was able to appreciate any scenery, the calming sound of the ocean waves and cool breeze against your exposed skin was incredibly peaceful.
Upon entering the bath, I was immediately surprised by the temperature of the water. Another sign that Yudomari was the "real deal;" the ocean water was only lukewarm. I had become accustomed to the superheated water of the modern onsen resorts in Matsuyama.
I exited the water and began toweling off. My rustling created quite the confusion. The older of the two men in the bath couldn't physically see me leave the pool, so I assume he thought I was a different person preparing to enter. He began shouting, "Hey, who is over there? I said, who is that over there? Show yourself!"
Come to think of it, he may have been a bit drunk.
I replied to him that it was me, "the same person." This seemed to quiet him down for a few minutes, until the act of me putting on my shoes and wringing out my towel led him to produce a pocket flashlight and begin furiously swinging it side-to-side in order to illuminate the thick, soupy blackness and expose the mystery bather. It was a failed endeavor.
"I said who is over there!? Whoever you are you can't come in! The water is just perfect right now and I won't let you in!"
This time I didn't bother responding to his shouting. As I began shuffling my way back up the rocks I heard him remark to the other man, "I guess there was no one over there after all!"
Walking back toward the minshuku, I happened to find a small general store nestled off the beaten path on a side street. I took the opportunity to buy a noodle bowl and a pack of pickles. It was a surprisingly delicious dinner.
B.E.W.
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