JapanIslandUNESCO World Heritage
Yakushima
505 km² rising to 1,936 m out of the East China Sea.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
505km²
Area
165km
Coastline
1,936m
Highest point
Mount Miyanoura
13,178
People
29°C
Warmest sea
August
518km
To the mainland
When to go to Yakushima
Best for the beach from June to October.
The sea is warmest in August (29 °C) and coolest in February (20 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from April to December.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in Kagoshima, Japan
Yakushima is an island in Japan. It covers 505 km², with 165 km of coastline. Its highest point, Mount Miyanoura, rises to 1,936 m. About 13,178 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 518 km away. It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Getting there
- Yakushima Airport (KUM)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at KUM airport (Yakushima)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesKagoshima - Tanegashima / Yakushima
- 518 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From June to Octoberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
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On the island
What you find on Yakushima.
- 10beachesPillow-Shaped Lava Field, Tashiro Coast, Nagata Inakahama Beach and 7 more
- 27viewpointsTorooki-no-taki viewpoint, Senpiro-no-Taki viewpoint, Jomon Sugi (Cedar Tree) and 24 more
- 5lighthouses
- 3ferry terminalsToppy & Rocket Terminal, Yakushima
- 1marinas
- 54named peaksMount Miyanoura, Mt. Nagata, Mt. Kurio and 51 more
- 10waterfallsJanokuchi Waterfall, Senpiro-no-taki Waterfall, Secret Waterfall + Spring and 7 more
- 1dive centresEver Blue Yakushima
- 8campsitesJerry's camp site, Ban-yamin campsite, Ocean View and 5 more
- 45hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 62restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Yakushima in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Yakushima, each with its own numbers.
5waterfallsCascadyas
5 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Ōko Falls
- Senpiro Falls
- Torōki Falls
- Janokuchi Waterfall
- 布引の滝
Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 644 m above the sea. 24 % of it is below 200 m.
- 7 %0–50 m
- 16 %50–200 m
- 20 %200–500 m
- 31 %500–1,000 m
- 25 %1,000–2,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Koseda11,858 people
- Miyanoura6,544 people
- Yudomari2,034 people
- Kurio1,803 people
- Koshima1,245 people
- Nagata1,192 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 15 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 23 | 25 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 25 | 21 | 17 |
| Night low (°C) | 13 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 27 | 28 | 26 | 23 | 19 | 15 |
| Sea (°C) | 21 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 25 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 26 | 24 | 22 |
| Rain (mm) | 137 | 160 | 196 | 220 | 277 | 588 | 352 | 218 | 310 | 201 | 170 | 152 |
| Wet days | 15 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 23 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 13 | 15 |
| Sun h/day | 2.3 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 3.1 | 7.0 | 7.6 | 5.9 | 5.2 | 3.7 | 2.5 |
| Wind (km/h) | 28 | 26 | 26 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 27 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +1.0 | +0.5 | +0.4 | −0.3 | +0.6 | +0.7 | ±0.0 | +0.7 | −0.3 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.6 |
| 2021 | −0.2 | −1.1 | +0.1 | +1.4 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +0.4 | −0.4 | +0.7 | +1.3 | −0.2 | +0.5 |
| 2022 | +0.7 | +0.1 | +0.7 | +1.5 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.9 | +1.3 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.4 |
| 2023 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +1.1 | +0.1 | +0.7 | +0.4 | −0.1 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.8 |
| 2024 | +1.0 | +1.5 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +1.9 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +1.7 | +1.4 | +1.4 | +1.2 | +0.6 |
| 2025 | +0.6 | −0.5 | +0.2 | −0.1 | +0.5 | +1.5 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +2.0 | +2.3 | +0.9 | +1.1 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
TanegashimaJapan445 km²282 m50 km away
Kuchinoerabu IslandJapan36 km²657 m31 km away
Nagashima IslandJapan91 km²404 m202 km away
KyushuJapan36,782 km²1,791 m297 km away
Amami ŌshimaJapan713 km²694 m257 km away
Kikai IslandJapan57 km²211 m231 km away
Hashima IslandJapan0.07 km²32 m263 km away
TokunoshimaJapan248 km²645 m322 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q242176) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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