Moving around Yakushima 2016

Rental Car

Most tourists choose to rent a car for convenience and there are many car rental outlets on the island – mostly near the airport and ports.

I have been around many of the local rental companies in Yakushima and the few that seemed foreigner friendly were Suzuki Rentals who have an information sheet in English.

Remember that any of the English speaking accommodation options on my accommodation page will either have cars to rent or can help you rent one.

Here’s a list of local and national rental companies:

Suzuki Rentals

Carrentalgroup.com (English website)

Europcar (English website)

Toyota Rentals (English website)

Times Car rental (English website)

Nippon Rentacar (English website)

Matsubanda Rentacar

Orix Rentacar

Kamiyama Rentacar

Anbo Shinjima Rentacar

The Youth Hostel in Hirauchi and many other accommodation options also rent cars.
 

Bus

The bus schedule is here: http://www.yakumonkey.com/2012/05/new-yakushima-bus-timetables-2012.html

Also here is a map and details of the Free Pass:

Adult Child
1 day 2,000円 1,000円
2 days 3,000円 1,500円
3 days 3,000円 1,500円
4 days 4,000円 2,000円

Bus map and free pass

And here is a chart of the bus prices for those routes (in yen):

Miyanoura – Yakusugiland – Kigen sugi (Yodogawa mountain trail)







Miyanoura port






Miya-
noura
130





Airport 490 510




Prefecture hall (Anbo)
380 760 780



Anbo 130 410 790 810


Yakusugi museum 220 260 550 910 930

Yakusugi
land
590 720 750 1,000 1,310 1,330
Kigen sugi 300 800 910 940 1,180 1,470 1,480

Nagata – Anbo – Oko-no-taki









Nagata








Isso 510







Miya-
noura Port
500 890






Airport 510 870 1,210





Prefecture Hall (Anbo)
380 780 1,110 1,420




Anbo 130 410 810 1,140 1,440



Ono
aida
630 660 920 1,250 1,530 1,840


Hirauchi 300 830 860 1,100 1,410 1,690 2,000

Kurio 490 690 1,160 1,180 1,390 1,700 1,980 2,290
Oko
no taki
260 650 850 1,280 1,310 1,520 1,820 2,110 2410
Arakawa Trail Entrance
Miyanoura Port 1,380
Miyanoura 1,360
Airport 1,070
Prefectural Hall (Anbo) 830
Anbo 800
Makino 770

Arakawa Trail Entrance
Hirauchi seaside Onsen 1,390
Hirauchi 1,340
Onoaida 1,190
Mugio 1,030
Takahira 970
Haruta 790

Shirtani Unsuikyu
Miyanoura Port 530
Miyanoura 500
Kami Yakucho Town hall 480

SCOOTER

Scooters can be rented at these places (Sites in Japanese) :

Motorbike Rentals
Name Place Tel Engine
Suzuki Rentals Miyanoura 42-1772 50cc
You Shop 南国 Anbo 46-2705 50cc
Kamiyama Rentacar Anbo 49-7070 50cc
Yakushima Youth Hostel Hirauchi 47-3751 50cc
Bicycle

Mountain bikes are easy and cheap to rent in Miyanoura and Anbo. If you are so inclined, it takes around 8 hours to circumnavigate the island.

In the guide book there are details about a ¥800 mountain bike rental scheme whereby you can drop of a rented bike at various points around the island. (No need to return the way you came!)

Taxi

Hikers often use taxis to take and collect them from the mountain trails in the early hours of the morning and late afternoon.

Taxis
Name Place Tel
Yakushima 交通 Taxi Anbo 46-2321
Miyanoura 42-0611
Onoaida 47-2018
Anbo Taxi Anbo 46-2311
Matsubanda交通 Taxi Miyanoura 42-0027
Anbo 46-3900

2015 Prices of the common routes:

TAXI PRICES Miyanoura Airport Anbo Onoaida
Miyanoura 2,570 4,640 8,330
Airport 2,570 2,390 5,540
Anbo 4,640 2,390 3,830
Onoaida 8,330 5,540 3,830
Shiratani Unsuikyo 2,750 4,730 6,890 11,080
Yakusugiland 8,420 5,450 3,560 7,790
Arakawa trail 8,510 5,900 4,010 7,250
Yodogawa trail 10,580 7,250 5,180 8,510

HITCH-HIKING

It is not an uncommon site to see hitchhikers and many people pick them up due to the bus situation. It does depend on the time of day and the weather though as to how long you stand by the road.

For more informatiom about Yakushima transport check out the one and only Yakumonkey Guide

Yakushima Guide book

10 thoughts on “Moving around Yakushima 2016

  • July 17, 2012 at 3:27 pm
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    Need the book bro, e-book?….confirm release date please

  • July 17, 2012 at 7:15 pm
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    I'm working on the second edition at the moment but the changes will be more esthetic – the core of information in the book will remain pretty much the same. No release date yet. If you need the information now, go ahead and buy the book.

  • March 19, 2013 at 2:31 pm
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    Does gps work on yakushima pls? is it easy to find the sights etc? thanks!

  • March 20, 2013 at 2:09 pm
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    Yes and it's easy provided you have a map and a good idea of where you're going.

  • March 8, 2014 at 5:46 pm
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    where can i find a guided tour for one day?

  • March 18, 2014 at 10:13 pm
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    Hi, we are planning on arriving in Yakushima by ferry on Thursday 22nd May, and leaving on the Sunday. We will want to rent a car – is it advisable to book in advance, or should it be fine to just sort out when we arrive?
    Thanks.

  • March 19, 2014 at 4:30 pm
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    I guess that it's best to book in advance as you've got such a short time. You can get help with this with your accommodation or try Suzuki Rentals – they seemed the nicest of the ones I visited when researching the book.

  • September 14, 2018 at 7:20 am
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    Hello Yakumonkey!
    Thank you for your website and for your ebook, both really helpful to plan our trip!
    We will be travelling to Yaku on November 2nd and departing from Anbo on the first ferry of November 5th. Based on the bus schedule I saw, I thought there was an early morning bus from South Village to Anbo Ferry Port but regretfully, our host in South Village tells me that there is none.
    I am evaluating different options and I was wondering what is the winter time bus schedule like or whether it will be possible to drop off a rental car in Anbo Port (if so, at which car rental?) and even with the rental shop still being close, early in the morning.
    Another option would be to get a taxi but I am wondering whether I can book it in advance and whether taxis are available very early in the morning.
    Thank you very much for your help and have a great day!

  • September 15, 2018 at 7:02 am
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    Hello Lea. This is an old page. Did you click on a link on the website to get here? If so, I need to fix it. At the moment the latest bus timetable I have is until 17th September 2018 http://bit.ly/2NJ14cu. I'm still waiting for the one after that. Quite often your accommodation will help you arrange transport – you can ask South Village to help you book a taxi (yes, they run early as most hikers start at dawn). You can also try the tourist information as they have become so much better in helping tourists. Most car rental offices are near the airport or near Miyanoura port – there aren't many near Anbo.

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