5 Tours for Yakushima Family Travel

Yakushima Family Trip

Yakushima Island, with its scenery that makes you feel as if you have wandered into the world of Ghibli, is by far the most popular of all domestic travel destinations.

Why don't you enjoy trekking, hiking, ocean and river activities with your family while admiring the mysterious scenery on Yakushima Island, which is called the island where God dwells?

Yakushima, with its hot springs, is a great place for a family vacation.

Let's go to Yakushima, the first island in Japan to be registered as a World Natural Heritage site, to recharge your energy!

 

What is Yakushima?

Yakushima, a remote island in Kagoshima, is called a power spot island because 90% of the island's area is forested and a wide variety of rare plants and animals can be seen.

It is the location of the model for the Ghibli film "Princess Mononoke," and will be an irresistible spot for Ghibli fans.

The highest mountain range in Kyushu is called the "Alps of the Sea," and continues to attract many people.

Yakushima Island has plenty to offer: giant Yakusugi cedars, including the 7,000-year-old Jomon cedar, dynamic waterfalls, mangroves, and more.

 

How to get to Yakushima

There are two recommended ways to get to Yakushima: by plane from Kagoshima Airport or by high-speed boat from Kagoshima Port.

You can fly smoothly from Haneda/Narita Airport in Tokyo or Nagoya Centrair Airport to Kagoshima Airport and transfer to Yakushima bound for Yakushima at Kagoshima Airport.

The flight time from Kagoshima Airport to Yakushima Airport is approximately 40 minutes.

In addition, Yakushima Airport can be accessed directly from Fukuoka Airport, and the flight time is about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

In addition, direct flights from Osaka Itami Airport in Kansai provide access to Yakushima Airport in approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Access other than by air is possible by "High Speed Boat Rocket" or "High Speed Boat Toppy" from Kagoshima Port.

High-speed boats run several times a day to Yakushima Island with a travel time of around 2 to 3 hours.

There are two types of high-speed boat, the Rocket Toppy, one going via Tanegashima and the other going directly to Yakushima, and the time required varies greatly.

To get from Kagoshima Chuo Station to Kagoshima Port, it takes about one meter by cab, and from Kagoshima Airport to Kagoshima Port takes about one hour.

For family travelers with a short stay, access by plane is recommended.

 

Yakushima Family Travel Attractions

Yakushima offers a wide variety of activities throughout the year, and families can enjoy nature at its best in the mountains, ocean, rivers, and mangroves.

Even with small children, visitors can experience power spots and nature through a variety of experiences, such as hiking to view the thousands-year-old Yakusugi cedar trees, or enjoying the view from the water by river kayak or SUP.

A real trek will also make your family trip more memorable, as you can get up close and personal with the famous Jomon cedars, see the mossy forests of Ghibli's world, and experience photogenic landscapes.

Enjoy the outdoors in the pristine wilderness of Yakushima and take a relaxing family vacation.

Here we will introduce in detail the charms of such a family vacation in Yakushima.

 

Great nature that even small children can enjoy!

Because Yakushima is a treasure trove of nature, there are plenty of activities that can be enjoyed by families traveling with small children.

Yakusugiland," a natural recreation area, is a popular tourist spot where visitors of three generations can participate in trekking to see Yakusugi cedars, play in a clear river, and fully experience the nature of Yakushima.

On the trekking course where you can see Yakusugi cedars, you will forget the hustle and bustle of daily life and be healed by a forest bath filled with negative ions.

You can also fully enjoy playing in the beautiful emerald green river and ocean of Yakushima.

 

Many plans offer discounts for tour reservations for multiple people!

There are many Yakushima tour plans that offer discounts if you book for more than one person, making it very economical.

Get together with other family members, friends, three-generation families, or multiple people and book one of our popular tours.

In addition, when booking a tour, it may be possible to combine activities such as trekking and canoeing tours, or canoeing and snorkeling.

By combining them, you can sign up for many activities that each family member would like to do.

Since Yakushima is a popular tourist destination, we recommend that you sign up for a tour as soon as you decide to travel.

 

5 tours available for family trips

Yakushima is known by many for its very popular trekking tours of Jomon cedars and mossy forests.

Yakushima Island has an abundance of ocean, rivers, and mountains, and is very rich in a variety of activities.

We will introduce some fun activity tours for the whole family to participate in, and we hope you will find them useful on your trip.

 

trekking tour

The very popular trekking tours in Yakushima offer a variety of courses and are sure to be a fun family vacation.

Yakusugiland" is a highly recommended place for family trips, where you can trek like a walker, even with small children.

Yakusugiland is designated as a natural recreation area, where you will be able to view the scenery typical of Yakushima.

The famous Jomon Cedars and Shiratani-unsuikyo courses on trekking tours require serious mountaineering, but it may be a good idea to encourage each other as a family to take on the challenge.

After a hard day's trekking, you will be rewarded with a spectacular view that will soothe your body and soul so that you will forget the fatigue of trekking.

There are many spots that you should not miss when you come to Yakushima, such as the Jomon cedars, which are between 2,000 and 7,000 years old, and Shiratani Unsui Gorge, the forest that inspired Princess Mononoke in the Ghibli movie.

The "moss forest" in the famous Shiratani-unsui Gorge is especially attractive to Ghibli fans with its fantastic scenery.

If you join a guided tour, you will have a chance to see Yakushima's endemic species, as well as Yakushima's Yakushika deer, which are said to be messengers of the gods, and Yakushima's Yakusaru monkeys.

We invite you to enjoy trekking with your family.

 

SUP Tour

On Yakushima Island, you can also enjoy SUP (stand-up paddleboarding), a popular activity for both children and adults.

SUP, a water sport born in Hawaii, allows you to ride on a large surfboard and use a paddle to paddle freely on the water.

Sometimes people stand on the board and let the wind blow, sometimes they sit and relax, and sometimes they even lie down to play.

Depending on the tour company, you can participate with children 6 years old and up, so families can enjoy river SUP on the calm current of the Awa River.

There are also SUP tours that can be enjoyed in the ocean, diving into the water along the way to enjoy snorkeling and swimming.

The view of Yakushima from the water is absolutely beautiful!

 

Canoe Tour

Yakushima is a place where you can take a mangrove canoe tour, which is not an easy experience in Japan.

Since the mangrove canoe tour starts from the brackish waters of the Kurio River, it is very impressive to see a wide variety of fish and green turtles that live in the sea.

And beyond that, a mysterious mangrove forest awaits.

The crystal clear emerald green rivers of Yakushima, where river canoeing is popular, are breathtakingly beautiful.

On a clear day, you can see as deep as 4 to 5 meters, and the forest and mountain views from the water are even more impressive.

On summer days, visitors can jump out of their canoes into the river or ocean for snorkeling, river swimming, or swimming in the sea.

The Awa River in Yakushima is a good spot for families because the current is very calm.

You will be bathed in negative ions and feel very refreshed.

Come join us for a canoe tour that is sure to be a great family experience!

 

Diving Tours

Yakushima has a strong image of mountains, but it has beautiful, clear waters and diving tours are very popular.

There are many spots where you can see a variety of fish that live in the surrounding waters and are coveted by divers.

Yakushima Island is also a spawning ground for sea turtles, and the probability of swimming with green turtles is very high during the summer season.

For beginners, a license-free experience diving tour is a great way for the whole family to enjoy the experience.

Also, if you have a license, why not try a different way to enjoy the beautiful marine world of Yakushima, such as a drift dive or a night dive?

Diving tours in Yakushima are one of the recommended activities to enjoy the ocean from micro to wide.

 

Snorkeling Tour

Snorkeling is a classic marine activity.

Snorkeling tours are highly recommended for family trips, as they offer a casual glimpse into the world of the sea, and can be experienced by those with small children.

The Kuroshio Current carries fish from the neighboring seas, making the waters of Yakushima Island a "treasure trove of fish.

You can see colorful coral reefs, tropical fish, clownfishes, and chin eagles, and you may even be able to swim with green sea turtles.

There are two types of snorkeling tours in Yakushima: those that enter from the beach and those that dive from the point by boat.

Even children who are not good swimmers will be able to swim smoothly because they wear fins to enter the water.

The colorful tropical fish can be seen below, and it is sure to be a wonderful experience.

Why not take the whole family snorkeling in the beautiful Yakushima Sea?

You will surely be captivated by the world of the sea.

 

summary

We have introduced some of the highlights and activities on Yakushima Island, which is also a great place for a family vacation.

Enjoy activities in the rich nature of Yakushima and make your trip a memorable one with your family.

Each season offers different delights, so you can enjoy yourself no matter how many times you come.

No matter what season you visit, Yakushima offers wonderful scenery and a great family vacation.

We hope you will find this information useful when considering your travel plans.

Thank you for taking the time to read this to the end.