Yakushima
A round, mountainous island south of Kyushu, a World Heritage Site for its ancient cedar forests. Its mossy woods are among the wettest places in Japan, and the oldest cedar, Jomon Sugi, is thought to be thousands of years old.
- Where
- Kagoshima, Japan
- Grade
- UNESCO heritage
- Worth
- 10 points collected on site, plus 8 for its grade
- Coordinates
- 30.3586, 130.5286
Get the Yakushima stamp
Open LOQAH when you are at Yakushima. It checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp is yours: confirmed on site in gold and struck with the date. It goes into your Kagoshima volume with your photos and a note.
Near Yakushima
Hashima Island 263 km
A small island off Nagasaki that was once a coal mining town, packed with concrete apartment blocks inside a high sea wall. Its outline earned it the nickname Battleship Island; abandoned since the mine closed, its buildings are left to the weather and seen from tour boats.
Kumamoto Castle 273 km
A large hilltop castle in Kumamoto, counted with Himeji and Matsumoto among the three premier castles of Japan. Its keep is a 1960 concrete reconstruction, but original wooden buildings remain on its steep, curving stone walls, and thirteen structures are Important Cultural Properties.
Nagasaki Peace Park 276 km
A park in Nagasaki commemorating the atomic bombing of the city on 9 August 1945, next to the Atomic Bomb Museum. At its head sits the Peace Statue by Seibo Kitamura, a seated figure with one hand pointing to the sky and the other stretched out for peace.
Mount Aso 286 km
The second largest active volcano in Japan after Mount Fuji, standing in a caldera about 120 km around in Aso Kuju National Park. Its tallest peak, Takadake, reaches 1,592 metres, and the steaming crater of Nakadake lies at its centre.
Hells of Beppu 341 km
A set of hot spring pools in the onsen town of Beppu that are for looking at rather than bathing in, known in Japanese as jigoku, the hells. Each has its own character: a cobalt blue pond, a blood-red one, bubbling mud and a geyser.
Dazaifu Tenmangu 352 km
A Shinto shrine built over the grave of the scholar Sugawara no Michizane, revered as Tenjin, the god of learning. Students come to pray for exam success among thousands of plum trees, and the approach is lined with shops selling umegae mochi, grilled rice cakes.
Dogo Onsen 443 km
One of the oldest hot springs in Japan, in the city of Matsuyama on Shikoku. Its main bathhouse, the wooden Honkan of 1894, rises in tiers of tiled roofs to a small drum tower, and the streets around it fill with bathers in cotton yukata.
Mount Misen 467 km
The sacred mountain of Miyajima and the island's highest point at 535 metres, inside the World Heritage area of Itsukushima Shrine. A ropeway and forest trails lead up to the summit rocks, with wide views over the islands of the Seto Inland Sea.
Questions
Where is Yakushima?
Yakushima is in Kagoshima, Japan. The nearest other LOQAH stamps are Hashima Island (263 km), Kumamoto Castle (273 km), Nagasaki Peace Park (276 km).
How do I get the Yakushima stamp?
Open LOQAH when you are at Yakushima and get its stamp. The app checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp goes into your Kagoshima volume, confirmed on site, with the date.
I have been to Yakushima before. Can I still have the stamp?
Yes. Add it from Earlier trips in your Kagoshima volume, with the date if you know it, or import your Google Timeline and LOQAH matches the places you were.
Collect your first stamp.
LOQAH is free on iPhone and Android, in India and 20 more countries, with more countries on the way. Stand at a place, collect its stamp, and keep every trip in a passport that grows.