Hike to the Jomon Sugi cedar on Yakushima

What the experience is

Yakushima is a mountainous island south of Kyushu, a World Heritage site since 1993 for its forest of ancient cedars. The best known of them, Jomon Sugi, stands high in the interior. It is 25.3 metres tall and 16.4 metres in circumference, and its age has been estimated at anything from 2,000 to 7,200 years. It was found only in 1966.

There is no road. The tree is reached on foot by the Arakawa trail, a round trip of about 22 kilometres that takes between nine and twelve hours. Walkers set out before dawn and return in the late afternoon.

The walk

The first and longer part follows the track of a disused forest railway, on boards laid between the rails. It is nearly level, crossing rivers on narrow bridges and passing the site of an abandoned logging village. After some hours the railway ends and a mountain path begins, steep and largely on wooden steps and boardwalks built to protect the roots.

On this upper section the old trees appear. Wilson’s Stump is the hollow base of a cedar felled in the 1580s; it is possible to walk inside and look up at the sky. Beyond it are Daio Sugi, the Great King cedar, and Meoto Sugi, two trees joined by a branch. Jomon Sugi is seen from a wooden platform at a distance, set to keep visitors off its roots.

When to go

The trail is walked all year, but snow lies on the upper part in winter. Spring and autumn are best. Yakushima is among the wettest places in Japan, so rain on the day is likely in any season. The forest is at its greenest when wet.

Good to know

From March to November private cars may not drive to the trailhead. Walkers take the Arakawa mountain shuttle bus from the Yakusugi Museum (Yakusugi Shizenkan), near the town of Anbo. The first buses leave very early, around 5 a.m. The bus has no seat reservation and runs first come, first served; a round-trip ticket (about 3,000 yen in 2026, including a 1,000-yen mountain conservation contribution) is best bought in advance at the island’s information counters. Fares, hours and rules are revised, so check the current Yakushima tourism pages before going. Many people go with a licensed guide, who sets the pace and explains the forest. Carry full waterproofs, a head torch, lunch and breakfast, and wear boots. There are few toilets on the route, and walkers are asked to carry a portable one.

The walk is long but not technical. Anyone who is used to a full day on foot can do it. Those who are not will get more from the shorter circuits of Shiratani Unsuikyo, where the moss is thicker and the trees almost as old.

Why OKYTO recommends it

Few places in Japan are as far from a road, and no other forest in the country has trees of this age. The tree itself is seen from a distance. The day is made by the hours on the railway track in the early light and by the cedars along the way.