The island has rain all year round, thousand-year-old trees grow close together like a fairy world.

Yakushima is an island in Japan with a very humid climate, which helps maintain an ancient deciduous forest full of creatures and plants, especially deciduous trees.

About 60km south of the southernmost point of Kyushu Island, Japan, there is a beautiful island that many people wish to visit at least once - called Yakushima . Because of its remote location, completely isolated, this island still retains its original wildness.

And there, there is a cool, green tropical forest, listed as one of the best preserved forests in Japan.

The island where it rains all year round

According to Atlas Obscura , Yakushima is an almost perfectly round island . It is located about 60km south of Kyushu - one of the four main islands of Japan - and is a remote and completely isolated island.

Yakushima is one of the wettest places in the world, so much so that locals say it rains '35 days a month'. That's an exaggeration to say that here, it rains all year round, non-stop, at least once a day.

Here, the ecosystem is also extremely diverse, from subtropical lowlands, to cool temperate highlands, even with snowfall. So people can experience both tropical and temperate climates on this island , which is really wonderful.

The trail is beautiful like a fairy tale.

The combination of these elements gives Yakushima a mystical aura that is often compared to fantasy lands such as the island where King Kong resides, as well as serving as the inspiration for the  Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke  .

Thousand year old tree

The trails wind among the Yakushima cedars (Yaku-sugi), which are known for their incredible age. Most of the trees here are around 1,000 years old, and a few are believed to be as old as 7,000 years.

The mountains rise in the central area of ​​the island.

Locals also use tree roots, rocks, and wood to make steps, making it easier for visitors to move on slippery ground. However, sometimes visitors still have to crouch or crawl over tree roots because they block the path.

Due to the abundant rainfall, moss-covered rocks covered the forest floor, adding to the fresh green color. There was no place on the forest surface that lacked the green color of life.

This trail is named Shiratani Unsuikyo.

The island's fauna is also quite rich, including 16 species of mammals, 150 species of birds, 15 species of reptiles, 8 species of amphibians, and 1,900 species of insects. Compared to Yakushima's modest area, these numbers are quite large.

The largest animals found are the Yakushima macaque and the white-spotted sika deer , both of which are considered endemic to the island. The two creatures sometimes exhibit a symbiotic relationship. Some visitors have even reported seeing the monkeys hitchhiking on the deer.

Road to Yakushima.

To get to Yakushima, you can take a leisurely four-hour ferry ride from Sakurajima, famous for its active volcano that makes headlines every few years when it spews ash that covers the city.

The ferry docks on the north side of the island in the port settlement of Miyanoura , where the majority of Yakushima's population (around 13,000) lives. The rest of the population is scattered along the coast, supporting mainly tourism, which has replaced the once thriving logging economy.

There are many walking trails, some of which cross from one side of the island to the other.

Many Japanese office workers often come to this island to immerse themselves in nature, relieve stress and anxiety at work by hiking up the mountains.

There are numerous hiking trails, some of which cross from one side of the island to the other. For those who wish to hike overnight, there are free huts available along certain sections of the trails.