2008 Summer Holiday

IMGP0054, originally uploaded by setyr.

I've had lots of distractions lately that I haven't been able to make my timely blog update. So, here's to a little bit of catching up....

T&I have planned to spend our 1st summer holiday together in Yakushima Island. This island is the southernmost part of Japan, and is part of the Kagoshima Prefecture. It is declared a World Heritage Site because of its thick rain forest and century old cedar trees. These trees date as far back as 7000 years old, which means that they are even older than our civilized world. Although the weather is unpredicable - in one day, you will most likely experience, rain, sunshine, cloud, strong winds, and another shower, the place itself will bring serenity and simplicity back in your life.
The island's population is around 10,300 humans, around 20,000 deers and around 20,000 monkeys. Yes, you can picture clans of monkeys, elusive deers wandering down the winding road. Plus, turtles are also very much present in the area! Yakushima is a guranteed nature-tripping haven!

So, let me start with Day 1: We left Tokyo International airport at 9.20am aborad JAL all the way to Kagoshima International, for about an hour. There, we transferred to a very small plane for another 20 minutes journey to the Yakushima island. We reached Yakushima around 1pm, and we hopped into our rental car and made one quick round of the island...Our first find is the Okonotaki Falls. The 88 meter high waterfall is considered one of Japan's 100 best and can be viewed from just a few steps from the parking area....