Islands #7 - More about Yakushima Island

Ferries from Kagoshima and Tanegashima often call at the port of Miyanoura, which is a daily service. The distance between Yakushima and Kagoshima is 130 km, and hydrofoils can cover it in more than two hours - unless, of course, they stop in Nishinoomote, Tanegashima. Ferries cover the same route relatively slower - in 4 hours, but their tickets are cheaper. In addition, the ferry can transport your car or motorcycle, which is impossible on jetfoils (a boat on hydrofoils).

The southern end of Tanegashima lies just 20 kilometers across the Vincennes Strait to Yakushima: ferries from Miyanoura Port call at both Nishinoomote, on the northern tip of Tanegashima, and Shimama Port on the southern tip. The journey takes 2 hours and one hour respectively. Also from the port of Miyanoura, you can get to Kuchinoerabujima, the last island in the northern group of the Osumi archipelago (this is the next island I will talk about), located to the west of Yakushima. Ferries reach this island in less than 2 hours. Jetfoils do not sail this route. And in general, flights to Kuchinoerabujima are irregular, only twice a week.

The Yakusugi Forest and the entire Yakushima Island are visited by 300 thousand tourists a year, so the local tourist infrastructure is quite developed. There are many small hotels, minshuku, and restaurants for all prices. There are also several top luxury resorts on the island, but all of them are outside of Miyanoura. The largest of them, a hotel-resort with a golf complex called Yakushima Iwasaki Hotel, is located at the southern end of the island.

There are almost 40 minshuku in Miyanoura, and you will definitely see a tourist information desk (it stands near the pier) as soon as you get off the ferry. If you don't have a reserved room in a hotel or inn at the time of arrival (by the way, it's a pretty bad idea to come to Ryukyu without pre-booked accommodation), you can ask the staff at this desk and they will kindly help you do so. Although almost all minshukus include lunch in the total room rate, there are many restaurants in the city. There are also a couple of museums, several cultural and environmental institutions, and many other interesting tourist attractions. Miyanoura is the best place on the island to spend the night if you're going to go hiking.