With much of the island of Yakushima being a natural reserve, along with giant ancient cedar trees like Jomonsugi, it is not necessarily surprising that it is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. On the west coast of the island is the World Heritage Listed Coastal Road with Wildlife, known as Seiburindou (支部林道, Western district forest road) in Japanese.
Yakushima and its sister island, Kuchinoerabu island, are home to two unique subspecies: Yakushima deer and Yakushima macaques. Subspecies of Japanese deer and Japanese macaques, respectively, both populations easily outnumber humans on Yakushima.
When the weather is good, you can see many deer and macaques, who have become used to human presence on the road and do not run from cars. Naturally, remember to respectful and keep your distance with these animals. They are still wild and while they are ok with having you around, they do not want to interact.
Do not feed the animals!
There are several observation towers along the Yakushima UNESCO World Heritage Listed Coastal Road as well, which reveal beautiful views of not only the stunning, rocky coastline of Yakushima but also some of the islands in the distance.
Thanks for reading! Want to do some more exploring? Have a look at the travel map:
If you see this after your page is loaded completely, leafletJS files are missing.
Interested in seeing our social media? Follow us on Instagram for travel photos and Youtube for travel videos!