1 Day Shiratani-Unsuikyo Trekking Tour, Yakushima (private)

Moss covered trees in Shiratani-Unsuikyo

1-day trek in Shiratani-Unsuikyo, the model of the mystique ancient forest in the film Princess Mononoke, with a local certified guide Taro.

1 Day

Mar - Nov

Intermediate

Beginner

Description

Welcome to Shiratani-Unsuikyo!

Shiratani-Unsuikyo is known as the model of a primitive forest in the movie "Princess Mononoke"(1997). Please come and experience the ancient atmosphere by trekking in the beautiful forest.

We will be walking through the forest of Shiratani-Unsuikyo at an altitude of around 600-1,000m. On this trek, we'll be taking our time walking though the deep beautiful forest, and I believe you will be able to experience Yakushima Island that you imagined it to be.

Kusukawa Path was also a very important route to people during the Edo era. We will walk along it to the forest of Princess Mononoke.

On a nice day, we can walk deeper into the forest and follow Tsuji path to reach Taiko-Iwa (Drum Stone). From there, you will be enchanted by the beauty of the scenery.

Please get in touch with me if you're also interested in Kayaking on this tour!

LEVEL: Beginner. You have to be fit enough for a 7-8 hours casual work per day.

CLIMATE: People always think Yakushima Island is tropical, but actually, it has four seasons. In winter, we have snow as much as 1m high in front of Jomon-Sugi, around 2m high around the summit of Miyanoura.

In spring, it rains a lot and we can enjoy beautiful fresh green of the mountain range. In summer, if the condition allows we can take a dip in a river. In autumn, the weather tends to be stable and so is good for trekking. Thus, we can enjoy the changing seasons of Japan in Yakushima.

Itinerary:

Meet at the hotel you are staying (between Miyano-ura village and Ono-aida village). Around 8:00 am. we will start from Shiratani Park (610m) into the virgin forest. We will pass Shiratani Mountain Hut and visit Taiko-Iwa (Drum Stone: 1,050m).

*Total walking distance: 6.7km in 7-8 hours

*I recommend you to stay hotels around in Miyano-ura area on the day before the tour, as it is more convenient to meet early in the morning on the day of the tour. There are some areas where I won't be able to pick you up from, so please get in touch with me with your accommodation details before booking the trip.

For longer treks, have a look at a 2-day trek I offer in the Jomon-sugi forest.

Price includes

Guiding fee

Price details

Please pay extra JPY 500 per person towards Forest Environment Maintenance Movement

Itinerary

Day 1:

*Total walking distance: 6.7km in 7-8 hours

About the guide

Taro

5.0

(5)

Mountain Guide

I was born in 1977 in Tokyo, Japan. My path into guiding in the nature and in the mountains started when I took one year gap year during my university years and travelled to New Zealand to really explore what I want to do with my life. I found working and living in the nature absolutely wonderful, whilst herding sheep everyday and enjoying the mountain food during and after work. This is where I also found that a lot of people didn’t know much about Japan and I came to realisation that I wanted to share the beauty of Japan with a lot of people!
After graduating university, I discovered and fell in love with Yakushima and was fully convinced that the nature and the lifestyle there, as well as becoming a nature guide there, is what I had been looking for all along. Since then I have based myself in Yakushima and have been guiding there ever since.

I am a JMGA Hiking Stage II certified mountain guide, as well as a member of Japan Canoe Federation, and certified with Technical Rope Rescue license.

I work together with a team of JMGA certified guides here, so it could be me or another certified guide who will guide you.

My joy is to meet and to speak with a lot of people to share the stories around the history and the nature of Yakushima, and also for people to know the Japan that I love. I look forward to meeting you all!!

Languages

Japanese | English

Certificates

JMGA

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What people are saying about this trip

Michelle

Rico, our guide, went above and beyond to be responsive to our hopes for the day! Highly recommend!

Johnathan

What can I say everything was amazing they where super accommodating and since we finished early we where taken to a beautiful onsen for the last hour and driven to the port to head home. Anyone thinking of wanting to book this should have done so, like yesterday. Thanks again so much for the unforgettable experience views and laughs.

Erlinda

The assigned tour guide, Mizuha-san was really friendly and knowledgeable. She’s a great help to us who’s beginner in hiking. She gave us lots of interesting facts about Yakushima island and the trail itself. She also gave us lots of helpful tips throughout the hiking.

Vanessa

Unfortunately, due to illness we were not able to do the trekking tour. But communication with the trekkers has always been uncomplicated. After my cancellation, we stayed in contact with the guide, who even helped me to get a refund. We will definitely do the trekking tour next time we're in Japan.