[searls]

I had some time to kill a couple years back and asked a Japanese friend where to go from Kagoshima, and she said I could take the ferry to Yakushima, so I walked to the dock, bought a ticket, and booked a minpaku lodge en route.

Turns out, it's the forest with the ancient moss and yakusugi trees from Princess Mononoke. Little did I realize that actually getting there is a pretty involved process, and it's a small miracle I was able to figure out the buses and do the whole hike in jeans and a t-shirt (most people came actually well-equipped to hike it)

Write-up and video: https://justin.searls.co/posts/go-to-yakushima/

Probably the most beautiful place I've ever been on earth.