Our first half day at sea brought us to the southernmost point of our journey, Yakushima. This beautiful island is home to magnificent mountains and prehistoric forests. The Yakusugi cedars are as old as 7,000 years, and some parts of the island are all but untouched by humans.
After lunch onboard, we took to local coaches that drove us deep into the mountains. Japanese macaques stood guard on the road as the buses worked their way up the steep slope.
Some of us hiked through the ancient forest with towering Yakusugi trees all around. Others saw the beautiful Senpiro-no-taki Waterfall before making their way to the Yakusugi Museum, dedicated to this once important lumber industry. Nowadays, the Yakusugi cedars are protected and allowed to reach their full potential of thousands of years of age. As we left Yakushima in the evening, we saw a stunning sunset in the land of the rising sun.
