Things to do in Yakushima on a cruise port day

Why Yakushima is worth getting off the ship for

Yakushima is on an itinerary for its forest. Cedars that are well over a thousand years old grow out of granite covered in moss, with streams running through them. The island rises to 1,936 m at Mt Miyanoura, and the plants change with height from subtropical coast to cool mountain top.

Most of that is reachable only on foot, and much of it is a day's hike. A port day picks the parts close to a road: Shiratani Unsuikyo above Miyanoura, Yakusugi Land and Kigensugi above Anbo, and the waterfalls on the south coast.

This guide is built from Kagoshima Prefecture's port pages, the cruise lines' own itineraries, the bus company's timetable and fare table, the forest council's notices and each sight's own hours. Distances and taxi fares are our estimates from map routing and the April 2026 tariff. Everything was checked on 13 November 2026.

Quay or tender at Miyanoura

Kagoshima Prefecture lists three quays at Miyanoura: two in the Miyanoura district, used by the ferries and jetfoils, and one of 7.5 m depth in the 火之上山 district, across the river from the town. The Japan Tourism Agency names that one as the cruise berth. The prefecture puts cruise calls at about 15 a year and asks ships to check that the quay is free.

How you land depends on the line:

Le Soléal draws 6.7 m and Island Sky 4.25 m, per Okinawa's berth lists, so both are shallower than the quay. Depth alone does not decide it: the quay's length is not published, and other ships may hold it. Anbo, on the east coast, is a jetfoil port; no cruise call is listed there for 2026–27.

Shiratani Unsuikyo

Shiratani Unsuikyo is a forest of cedar and moss at 600–1,050 m, 10 km above Miyanoura. The forest council's map gives three routes from the entrance:

• Yayoisugi course: about 2 km, 1 hour 10 minutes. The Yayoisugi cedar itself fell in a typhoon in August 2024.
• Bugyosugi course: about 4 km, 3 hours, with a hard middle section.
• Taikoiwa Rock round trip: about 5.6 km, 4 hours, through the moss forest; to the moss forest and back is about 2 hours 30 minutes.

The forest fee is ¥800 from April 2026. The site reopened on 18 October 2026 after Typhoon No. 24, with parts of the Yayoisugi course and the Hiryu path still closed; the Taikoiwa and Bugyosugi routes were open. After heavy rain the streams rise: the map asks hikers to wait until crossings are safe.

The bus leaves Miyanoura Port at 8:20, 10:05, 13:10 and 15:30 and the 宮之浦 stop three minutes later; it takes 35 minutes from the port, ¥560, or 32 from 宮之浦, ¥530. It comes back at 9:00, 10:40, 13:45 and 16:10.

Yakusugi Land, Kigensugi and the Yakusugi Museum

Yakusugi Land is the other recreation forest, at 1,000–1,300 m, 15 km above Anbo. Five courses lead past named cedars, including Buddhasugi, about 1,800 years old, and Hahakosugi, about 2,600. The fee is ¥800. Since September 2026 the suspension bridge at the exit is out; a temporary exit of about 20 m near Kugurisugi takes its place.

Kigensugi stands beside the forest road about 5.7 km further up, about 20 minutes by car. It is about 3,000 years old and 8.1 m round, and you can see it without a hike.

The Yakusugi Museum, at the foot of the road in Anbo, explains how the cedars grow and the history of logging them: 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30), ¥600, closed on the first Tuesday of each month and 29 December–1 January.

The bus up the mountain runs twice a day from Gochomae, so this day is a taxi or the ship's tour. Taxi from the quay: about an hour and about ¥12,400 to Yakusugi Land.

The south coast: waterfalls and hot springs

Three waterfalls sit near the coast road. Ohko-no-taki, one of Japan's 100 best waterfalls, is five minutes' walk from its bus stop, and the path goes close to the pool. Senpiro-no-taki drops between bare granite walls, seen from a viewpoint with a car park. Toroki-no-taki is five minutes from the Tainokawa bus stop.

The bus round the island reaches Ohko-no-taki only on the 8:40 and 12:50 from Miyanoura Port, 1 hour 45 minutes and ¥2,100. Back from the falls at 11:00 or 15:25. A taxi is about ¥15,400 each way, so a car for the day is the sensible way to do the south coast.

Hirauchi Kaichu Onsen is a hot spring in the rocks of the shore that can be used only about two hours either side of low tide, ¥300. Check the tide table before you go.

The west coast: lighthouse, macaques and deer

West of Nagata, Yakushima Lighthouse stands on a headland, five minutes by car from the village. South of it the Seibu Rindo, the western forest road, runs through the World Heritage area, where Yakushima macaques and Yakushima deer sit by the road. No bus uses the road, and large coaches cannot. It is a taxi, a rental car or the ship's tour.

Nagata Inakahama, on the way, is a sea-turtle nesting beach. From 1 May to 30 September visitors are asked to keep off the beach at night except on the official watches, so a daytime call sees the sand only.

Miyanoura on foot

The Environmental Culture Village Center at the port entrance tells the island's story from sea to summit. Its large-screen film runs at 9:20, 11:20, 13:20 and 15:20 (about 25 minutes). It opens 9:00–17:00 and costs ¥530. It closes on Mondays, or on the Tuesday when the Monday is a public holiday such as 11 October 2027, and from 28 December to 1 January; it does not close at all in Golden Week or from 20 July to 31 August.

A ship in at 07:00 or 07:30 puts you ashore before it opens, so see the shrine first; on Le Soléal's Monday call of 8 May 2028 it is closed.

Masaku Shrine and Kuhonji temple are in the village, a short walk apart. The Furusato Ichiba market sells island food and souvenirs, and its restaurant serves 11:00–15:00.

What to eat

Two fish define the island's food. Tobiuo, flying fish, is eaten as sashimi or as tobi-katsu, a cutlet. Kubiore-saba, “broken-neck mackerel”, is named after the way it is killed when landed, and is eaten as sashimi. Marutaka Suisan in Miyanoura sells it with smoked mackerel flakes. The island shochu, Mitake, is sold at Araki Shoten.

Weather

JMA normals at the Yakushima station, 1991–2020, give 4,652 mm of rain a year at the coast. It rains on 11 to 19 days a month. June is the wettest month, with 860 mm, and average highs run from 24.5 °C in May to 30.9 °C in August. In the mountains it is cooler and far wetter. Forest paths close after typhoon damage, as they did in 2024 and 2026.

The schedule pattern

No port or prefecture list of cruise calls is published for Miyanoura. The calls on this site come from the cruise lines' own itineraries. Most are small expedition ships, and their lines publish day-by-day plans without times. Where times exist, Le Soléal's calls are short: an afternoon and evening on 14 May, an afternoon on 25 September and a morning on 11 October 2027.

Silver Cloud's three calls are long days, 07:00–18:30, 07:30–17:00 and 08:00–18:00. Mitsui Ocean Sakura's two calls are 08:00 or 09:00 to 17:00. The full table is under cruises to Yakushima.

The best things to do in Yakushima on a port day

Our full list, with the time each takes from the berth, is on the Yakushima top 10. Timed plans are on Yakushima plans.

How to think about your hours

All-aboard is usually 30 minutes before departure, and you want to be at the gangway an hour before that. The first half hour goes on getting off, longer by tender. So the time you can use is the call length minus about two hours.

Under five usable hours, stay in Miyanoura: the Village Center, the shrine and the market. Five or six hours allow Shiratani by bus or taxi. Seven or more allow Yakusugi Land and Kigensugi by taxi, or the south coast's waterfalls.

Tours

No tours from Yakushima are listed on this site yet. The ship's own excursions are the usual way to Yakusugi Land and the west coast. If you hire a taxi, give the driver your landing place and your all-aboard time.