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Yakushima Island

The Yakushima Island Biosphere Reserve is located at the Kagoshima Prefecture at Kyushu in the southern part of Japan. The area (about 38 % of the island) is protected as a National Park (1964) and a Wilderness Area (1975). Mt. Miyanoura (1,936 meters above sea level), the highest mountain in Kyushu, stands at the center of the island. It comprises sub-tropical and temperate rainforests, evergreen coniferous forest with yaku cedars (Cryptomeria japonica) some of which are 1000 years old, and evergreen dwarf bamboo grassland around the mountain peaks.

The Yakushima islanders have climbed the mountains since ancient times to take part in a traditional ritual for bountiful agricultural and fish harvests and for safety in the home. Approximately 14,000 people live in the island, engaged in tourism, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and other industries. The Biosphere Reserve receives about 200,000 visitors for recreation activities. Read more about this biosphere reserve on the UNESCO Biosphere Reserves website.