Story 04 — Return to the Forest
Return to the forest. Yakushima.
A forest where rocks, fallen trees, everything is covered in moss. On an island of cedars more than a thousand years old, the scale of time begins to shift.
Photo: Chris 73 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
YAKUSHIMA — Kagoshima
The valley of moss
Walk the path along the stream and you notice that every surface is covered in green. On this rainy island, the forest itself lives by layering.
On every rock underfoot there is a small forest.
In the forest, you realise you are the newest living thing there.
Photo: Σ64 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0
YAKUSHIMA — Kagoshima
To Jomon Sugi
At the end of a long trail, the tree stands. Look up and you cannot see its crown; only the sheer size of the trunk fills your view.
AMAMI — Kagoshima
A little further, to the southern forest
South of Yakushima, Amami Oshima also has deep subtropical forest. The primeval forest of Kinsakubaru, where tree ferns cover the sky, teaches a different kind of forest time.
Photo: Asset utilitist / Wikimedia Commons / CC0
Destinations in this story
Places visited in this story
YAKUSHIMA
YakushimaKagoshima · Kyushu
Yakushima Town, Kagoshima Prefecture. Home to Mount Miyanoura (1,936 m), the highest peak in Kyushu, with forests of Yakusugi cedars over a thousand years old and moss-covered ravines. In 1993 it became one of the first areas in Japan inscribed as a World Natural Heritage site.
Islands / Forests / Mountains
AMAMI
Amami OshimaKagoshima · Kyushu
The main island of the Amami Islands, Kagoshima Prefecture. Subtropical evergreen broadleaf forests, mangroves and a sea of intricate inlets spread across the island. In 2021 it was inscribed as part of the World Natural Heritage site "Amami-Oshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, Northern part of Okinawa Island, and Iriomote Island".
Islands / Seas / Forests
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