Yakushima's Shiratani Unsuikyo

Leave the city behind in this ancient rainforest

Peter Sidell Dec 04, 2015 - 1 min read

<p>On the bus journey on the way there</p>

<p>It was up there I saw my wild deer</p>

<p>There are a number of handsome bridges along the way</p>

<p>This might be handy for sheltering from the rain</p>

<p>There are some paved paths near the entrance</p>

<p>Suited and booted and ready to go</p>

<p>A lookout point over a cloudy vista</p>

On the rainforest island of Yakushima a few hours on the ferry from Kagoshima, Shiratani Unsuikyo is a beautiful place to explore, just unspoilt ancient temperate rainforest, dotted with only a few paths and signs. It inspired the forests in the animated Studio Ghibli film Princess Mononoke, and it was so very atmospheric that I wondered if one of the movie's forest spirits might appear in front of me. Once I got a little way from the start of the trails, there was no-one else about, except for the one wild deer I saw; he looked at me for a moment, then gave a high-pitched squeak and bounded off up into the trees

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Peter Sidell @peter.sidell

I came to Japan from Manchester, England in 2003, and have travelled a lot since then, around Japan and in Asia. When I'm not working, I write satire and perform stand-up comedy in and around Tokyo. Check YouTube for a taste.