Photo: Burcu Basar

Yakushima, located 135 kilometers off the coast of Kagoshima in southern Kyushu, is home to just 13,000 residents yet draws around 300,000 visitors every year. The island, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site, is known for its misty, shrouded forest and is home to ancient cedar trees like Jomon Sugi—the largest and oldest tree in Japan, estimated to be between 2,000 and 7,000 years old.

Source: Yakushima: Exploring Japan’s World Heritage destination from a different perspective