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NEWSLETTER Issue #5MAY 2009
THE BUSY SEASONBEGINS!
Golden week is about to bringa bumper load of visitors toYakushima and hails the startof hiking season proper on theisland.This month there are thereforelots of events to cover but there are also anumber of access problems to consider if youare visiting in May:
Arakawa Trail EntranceTravel Restrictions
The stretch of road between Arakawa junctionand the Arakawa Trail Entrance is closed totraffic and walkers between
May 2th
 
and
 
5th
for a total of 
4 days
. The only way you canget to the Trail entrance is by shuttle bus,organised coach or taxi.
By taxi:
Taxis need a special 'ticket' whichcosts 250 yen and without it will not beallowed up.
By bus:
A shuttle bus will run from Yakusugimuseum to Arakawa Trail Entrance and willcost (one way) ¥1000 for adults and ¥500 for (Elementary School) children. If you intendon returning on the bus you must purchasetwo one-way tickets
prior to travelling
.Both of the above tickets for the taxi and buscan only be bought
the day before
at thefollowing places:
•
Airport Tourist Information Centre[Tel: 49-4010] Open 8.30am - 6pm
•
Miyanoura Tourist Information Centre[Tel: 42-1019] Open 8.30am - 5pm
•
Anbo Tourist Information Centre [Tel:46-2333] Open 8.30am - 5pm
•
Yakusugi Museum [Tel: 46-3113]Open 9am - 6pm
•
Yakushima Environmental CultureVillage Centre [Tel: 42-2900] Open9am - 6pmIf you don't usethe ticket, you canget a refund. Onehalf of the ticket isretained and is acoupon for use inYakushima (sodon't throw itaway!)
www.yakumonkey.com
In this Issue
•
Arakawa TrailEntrance restrictions
•
Shiratani roadrepairs
•
Turtle nestingseason begins
•
The 2 Day march
•
Shakunage Tozan
•
New documentaries
 
The
 
Shuttle busTimetable:From Yakusugimuseum car park 
: 6 buses - 4.45am, 5am,5.15am, 5.30am(connects with theMatsubanda bus), 5.45am (connects with theYakushima Kotsu bus), 6am.
From Arakawa TrailEntrance:
13 buses -1.30pm, 2.30pm, 3pm,3.30pm, 3.45pm, 4pm,4.15pm, 4.30pm(connects with theMatsubanda bus),4.45pm, 5pm(connects with theYakushima Kotsu bus), 5.15pm, 5.30pmand 6pm.
ShirataniUnsuikyoroad repairs
The road up toShiratani Unsuikyohas been worked onfor the past few yearsalmost constantly. Ithas always beendangerous with tight bends and narrowlanes but the wideningwork has improvedsafety a lot.There has however  been landslides over the winter damagingthe road and access isnow restricted. Theroad is only open totraffic between
8 am
and
5 pm
 
until July31st
.After this time therepairs are expected to be completed. But alsonote that if there isheavy rainfall(continuous rainfall of 100 mm or more) theroad will be closed
.
So be prepared with a plan B should theaccess be restricted.One way would be toclimb up theKusugawa trail toShiratani and avoidthe road altogether.
ShakunageTozan
Yakushima is famousfor its Rhododendronsand the ShakunageTozan is an organizedhike up into themountains in groupsaccompanied byguides. It takes placeon Sat May 30
th
andgoes to Miyanouradake, Kuroimi dake, Nageishi daira andHana-no-eigo marsh.Should you wish to join the hike you needto apply before
May14
th
 
and it costs¥6,000 for adults.More details in thewebsite. 
Yakushima 2Day March
On May 16
th
and 17
th
the annual 2 daymarch is held. Day 1is based aroundShiratani andMiyanoura and has avariety of organizedcourses. Day 2 is based aroundwaterfalls and National Heritage. If you are visiting at thistime, this wouldexplain why groups of  people are hikingalong the road.If you are interested in joining in the march,information is on thewebsite.
Festivals
On Mon May 4
th
Shitogo Gajyumaru
is holding their annualfestival at theGajymaru park inShitogo, just north of Miyanoura.On Tues May 5
th
thereis the
Kusugawa jyo
festival in Kusugawa, just south of Miyanoura. 
Yakushima Shakunage
of 00

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