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https://freedium.cfd/https://medium.com/japonica-publication/2023-063-visiting-one-of-japans-most-remote-islands-ae3965e57f6c>
"Allow me to tell the story of two separate encounters with a magical place on
a remote Japanese island.
Reaching it takes a full day of travel. Getting there, in a nutshell — take the
bullet train from Tokyo across Japan's main island, continuing through Kyushu
to the final stop at its southernmost point. There, at Kagoshima, board the
hydrofoil ferry that heads out to the open sea — first navigating the smooth
waters of Kagoshima Bay, then rounding the tip of Satsuma Peninsula, then
through the choppy waters of the East China Sea, until finally, at 30°N/130°E,
you arrive at the island of Yakushima 屋久島.
Yakushima is the last island of any real size in the area. It measures about 30
kilometers across, so it's a bit smaller than Kauai, Hawai'i. The interior of
its circular shape is mountainous, with Mount Miyanoura, and its handsome
granite outcroppings, towering nearly two thousand meters above the ocean's
surface. Only a thin ribbon of flat land exists around Yakushima's perimeter,
where the island's 12,000 inhabitants reside.
The climate of Yakushima is what makes it unique. Summers are warm and rainy;
winters are mild and rainy. It rains almost every day — the port village of
Anbō gets 4.5 meters of rainfall per year! This over-abundance of water is what
makes everything so spectacular.
When it's not raining, the sun strikes the saturated soil and the rain-soaked
leaves causing a fine mist to rise and hover over the landscape. When
disembarking from the ferry, that wispy atmosphere welcomes visitors with its
dreamy feeling.
I was first drawn to this place by the description of its lush forests, densely
packed with layers of trees. In particular, the ancient cedars are what I came
to see. They live for centuries, expanding their girth decade by decade until
they resemble overweight hermits. The oldest,
Jomon Sugi, is 16 meters in
circumference! Many of these trees are considered deities and have sacred
bamboo
shimenawa 標縄 ropes tied with white
shide 紙垂 streamers wrapped around
their bellies. Their very age demands respect, with some of them having lived
through all of recorded history and before."
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
