Yakushima Shiratani Unsuikyo with June

Yakushima is a southern island off the coast of Kyusyu prefecture in Japan.  Endowed with bountiful rain and a generally mild climate, it is lush and thick with vegetation and home to some ancient cedar trees one of which is known to be 10,000 years old (Jyomon sugi).  Although only 30 kilometers in diameter, the island encompasses both tropical beaches and snowy mountains up to 2000 meters in height - indeed we climbed cold mountains with snow patches and returned to sweltering heat on the seashore 3 hours, 15 kilometers, and 2000 meters of altitude away.

June, my wife, and I stayed there for one and a half weeks, rented bicycles, and did a lot of biking and hiking.  An unusual (for April) cold front from Siberia hit the whole of Japan just around that time, which led to some severe storms, hail, snow, and tornadoes throughout the country.  However, we were able to enjoy excursions every day, and Yakushima island lowlands were still much warmer than the unusual April snow falling in Tokyo.

We rented 3x7 speed bicycles at the Tourist center in Miyanoura.  The first day we rode up to Yakushima Shiratani Unsuikyo.  This ravine is one of the wettest places on the island, with lots of mist and clouds and rain.  Apparently it provided much of the inspiration for the artwork in anime movie "Mononoke Hime" about a nature loving princess raised in the woods by wolves.

I have not ever seen the movie yet, but I am familiar with the theme song:
http://grooveshark.com/#!/search/song?q=Yoshikazu+Mera+Mononoke+Hime+%28Princess+MONONOKE%29).

We rode from Miyanoura up to a hiking area where one can hike on a trail used in the Edo period, when the island residents would harvest cedar trees to pay as tax to the Tokugawa Bakufu government.  The trees were prized as material for sturdy long lasting roof shingles - the tree sap has evolved to prevent rot and decay - some logs cut and left in forest remain undecayed after 300 years.

"Drive carefully, falling rocks, Clouds and Water Ravine Road"
Interestingly, "unsui", literally clouds and water, is also used to mean a wandering itinerant monk.

There is a monkey in the this picture - why is s/he hanging out at roadwork site?  Longing for civilization?  It was the only monkey we saw that day, as they usually are out of sight on rainy days.

Back down in Miya-no-ura at the cafeteria above the tourist center (Kankou center - 観光センター) where we were able to rent 21-speed bikes able to climb the steep roads.  

At the tourist center we met Canadian Peter Gaskill, touring the world by bicycle, who was spending a few weeks cycling around Japan.

Finally, I decided not to take the bikes back to our inn about 30 kilometers away that evening, as I was concerned about unknown riding unknown road conditions at dusk in the rain.  So we took the bus instead and returned to get the bikes the next day.  As it turned out, it was a fortuitous decision.