A three-day, two-night Yakushima itinerary covering the Jomon Sugi trek, the west-coast drive, and an evening at the architect-led north-shore hotel. With 2026 cost breakdown, internal links to each day-trip guide, and the order I would actually do them in.
Eight Kagoshima islands worth a trip — Yakushima, Tanegashima, Amami, Tokunoshima, Okinoerabu, Yoron, Iojima, and the Tokara group. With 2026 access, season notes, the Marix Line ferry chain strategy, and how many days each one earns.
The three ways to reach Yakushima in 2026 — Toppy/Rocket hydrofoil, Yakushima Ferry 2, or JAC flight from Kagoshima. With 2026 fares, schedules, port pros and cons, and a sample door-to-door itinerary from Tokyo.
A 120 km west-coast loop that most Yakushima tourists skip — Ohko Falls, the Yokogawa swimming pools, the UNESCO Seibu Rindo wildlife corridor, and Nagata Inakahama beach. With 2026 driving practicalities and an honest hour-by-hour day plan.
An architect-led 9-villa hotel on Yakushima north-west shore. Each room has an open-air bath that frames the Pacific through a concrete arch and a private balcony 25 meters above the rocks. What works, what does not, and who should book.
The Arakawa Trail to Jomon Sugi is 22km round trip and 9-12 hours, ending in 30 minutes in front of a cedar that may be 7,200 years old. 2026 shuttle and forest-fee numbers, hour-by-hour breakdown, and what to actually pack.
Fukuoka · Sasaguri · Mountain Temple A mountain temple known for its thousand maple trees in November — and almost completely empty in summer when the same maples are at their greenest. The maple tunnel at Nomiyama in early summer.…
Fukuoka · Sasaguri · Temple A 41-meter sleeping bronze giant in a quiet mountain town — what to expect, what to wear, and how to get there. The Reclining Buddha at Nanzoin in summer. Bronze patina, eyes closed, the cloud…
Fukuoka · Sasaguri · Forest A small university research forest with a pond full of trees standing in water — and a careful set of rules to keep it that way. The bald-cypress pond inside Kyudai-no-Mori. The water sits still…
Aso · Takamori · Folk Architecture I drove out of Aso town on a clear May morning, took the back road south through Takamori, and rounded a bend to find the single most extraordinary piece of folk architecture I have…
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