Moss
Covers everything.
Takeshi Kuboki — CC BY 2.0 · Σ64 — CC BY 3.0 · Takeshi Kuboki — CC BY 2.0 · Σ64 — CC BY 3.0 · Σ64 — CC BY 3.0
Shiratani Unsuikyo is a river gorge on the Shiratani, a tributary of the Miyanoura River in the north of Yakushima Island, southern Japan, in Kagoshima Prefecture, about 5 km south of Miyanoura port in a straight line. Huge boulders formed by heavy rain eroding the granite, among them Taiko Rock, are scattered through the gorge, which is covered in primeval forest at the transition to dense Japanese cedar forest, mixing oaks and evergreens with hemlock and fir. Its symbol is the Yayoi-sugi, a giant cedar about 3,000 years old. The gorge is part of the Yakushima Natural Recreation Forest and a special zone of Yakushima National Park, and its Kusugawa trail was paved with granite in the Edo period and is still walked today. Thick green moss covers the rocks, tree trunks and ground, clear streams run over smooth boulders between them, and sunlight filters down through the tall canopy, giving it the feel of a forest from a fairy tale. Visitors walk trails of different lengths among the giant trees and streams, and some climb to Taiko Rock for views over the island's mountains. Yakushima is very rainy, so wear good walking shoes and carry a rain jacket.
Covers everything.
Clear.
Views.
Yakushima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
A rain jacket.
Two to six hours.