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Yakushima

Japan

East Asia modest ~$80/day
How to get there

Fly or hydrofoil from Kagoshima at Kyushu's southern tip to a circular island of vertical rainforest.

Where to sleep

A minshuku near Anbo or Miyanoura; mountain huts (unmanned, free) on the traverse.

What to expect

Cedar trees up to 7,000 years old in moss forests that inspired Princess Mononoke, deer and monkeys sharing the road, loggerhead turtles on the beaches, and rain measured in meters.

First move on arrival

Walk the Shiratani Unsuikyo moss ravine early, then commit to the long day (or overnight hut) to Jōmon Sugi, the ancient cedar itself.

When to go

May to November

One phrase to carry

Yoroshiku onegaishimasu — the all-purpose Japanese courtesy.

Read before you go

Lost Japan by Alex Kerr — the vanishing Japan these forests belong to.

Getting weirder nearby

Kagoshima's Sakurajima volcano, smoking over the bay, on your way through.

One honest warning

It rains '35 days a month,' as islanders say — waterproof everything and treat river crossings seriously after storms.

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