dramatically due tothe voracious appetiteof the roaming deer.Many of these includesaplings of the verytrees which makeYakushima famousand without these nextgeneration trees theforest is in danger.The numbers of deerincreased dramaticallyafter a decline inhunting and steadilyless harsh winters andperiodicquestionnaires comeround from the townhall as it decides whatto do with them.Farmers have beenholding a private waragainst the deer forsome time now. Thefollowing is by nomeans an isolatedexample: A neighbouronce came by with thecutest little bambi-likecreature with bigglistening eyes and asoft whimper. It wastied to the back of hissmall pick-up andcovered with a blueplastic sheet for theshort journey from hisplot of land to myworkshop. He hadcaught it in a trap thenight before. If suchthings were possible Iwould have instantlyadopted it and broughtit home as the newestmember of family,given it a cute nameand taken it for dailywalks in the longgrass. But alas, it wastaken down the hill tothe river, swiftlydecapitated (with thehead floatingdownstream), skinned,and sliced intocookable pieces forthe night's dinner.Whatever the finaldecision may be overthe fate of the Yakushika, like it or not, Ithink it is likely thatyou will see morevenison on the menusof Yakushima'srestaurants as timegoes on.
Arakawa TrailEntranceTravelRestrictions
The stretch of roadbetween Arakawa junction and theArakawa TrailEntrance is closed totraffic and walkersuntil
September 22
nd
.The only way you canget to the Trailentrance is by shuttlebus, organised coachor taxi.
By taxi:
Taxis need aspecial 'ticket' whichcosts 250 yen andwithout it will not beallowed up.
By bus:
A shuttle buswill run fromYakusugi museum toArakawa TrailEntrance and willcost (one way) ¥1000for adults and ¥500for (ElementarySchool) children. Ifyou intend onreturning on the busyou must purchasetwo one-way tickets
prior to travelling
.Both of the abovetickets for the taxiand bus can only bebought
the daybefore
at thefollowing places:
•
AirportTourist InformationCentre [Tel: 49-4010]Open 8.30am – 6pm
•
MiyanouraTourist InformationCentre [Tel: 42-1019]Open 8.30am – 5pm
•
Anbo TouristInformation Centre[Tel: 46-2333] Open8.30am – 5pm
•
YakusugiMuseum [Tel: 46-3113] Open 9am – 6pm
•
YakushimaEnvironmentalCulture VillageCentre [Tel: 42-2900]Open 9am - 6pmIf you don't use theticket, you can get arefund. One half ofthe ticket is retainedand is a coupon foruse in Yakushima (sodon't throw it away!)
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 Kotsubus), 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
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