Yakushima
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Criteria | Natural: vii, ix |
| Reference | 662 |
| Inscription | 1993 (17th Session) |
Yakushima (屋久島), one of the Ōsumi Islands, has an area of about 500 km² and a population of roughly 15,000 and lies to the south of Kyūshū in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The Vincennes Strait (Yakushima Kaikyō) separates it from Tanegashima. The highest point on the island is Miyanoura-dake at 1,935 metres (6,360 ft). It is covered in dense forest noted especially for old growth Cryptomeria trees known as sugi in Japan and magnificent rhododendrons.
The island forms part of Kirishima-Yaku National Park.[1] In 1980 an area of 18,958 ha was designated a UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserve.[2] In 1993 10 ha of wetland at Nagata-hama was designated a Ramsar Site.[3] It is the largest nesting ground for the endangered loggerhead sea turtle in the North Pacific.[1][4] Yakushima's unique remnant of a warm-temperate ancient forest has been a natural World Heritage Site since 1993. In the Wilderness core area (12.19 square kilometres (3,010 acres)) of the World Heritage Site, no records of past tree cutting can be traced.[5] Yakushima is Japan's wettest place,[6] and precipitation in Yakushima is one of the world's highest at 4,000 to 10,000 mm. It is said to rain "35 days a month". There are drier periods in autumn and winter, while heaviest downpours occur in spring and summer often accompanied by landslides. It is the southernmost place in Japan where there is snow in the mountains, often for months, while the ocean temperature is never below 19°C.
The Yakusugi Forest is visited by 300,000 tourists every year. It is said to have inspired the forest setting in Hayao Miyazaki's film Princess Mononoke.[7][8] The island was also seen in the 1996 movie Rebirth of Mothra.
The island has been a test site for Honda's hydrogen fuel cell vehicle research. Yakushima's electricity is more than 50% hydroelectric, and surplus power has been used to produce hydrogen gas in a small experiment by Kagoshima University. There are no hydrogen cars stationed on the island but a few electric cars are run by the municipality.
Administratively, the whole island is the town of Yakushima. The town also serves the neighbouring Kuchinoerabujima.
Yakushima Airport serves the island.
Climate
| Climate data for Yakushima | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 25.3 (77.5) |
26.1 (79.0) |
29.6 (85.3) |
29.8 (85.6) |
31.9 (89.4) |
34.8 (94.6) |
35.2 (95.4) |
35.4 (95.7) |
34.7 (94.5) |
31.0 (87.8) |
30.7 (87.3) |
25.7 (78.3) |
35.4 (95.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 14.4 (57.9) |
15.2 (59.4) |
17.5 (63.5) |
21.1 (70.0) |
24.3 (75.7) |
26.8 (80.2) |
30.4 (86.7) |
30.6 (87.1) |
28.7 (83.7) |
24.9 (76.8) |
20.9 (69.6) |
16.6 (61.9) |
22.6 (72.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 11.6 (52.9) |
12.1 (53.8) |
14.3 (57.7) |
17.7 (63.9) |
20.8 (69.4) |
23.6 (74.5) |
26.9 (80.4) |
27.2 (81.0) |
25.5 (77.9) |
21.9 (71.4) |
17.9 (64.2) |
13.6 (56.5) |
19.4 (67.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 8.7 (47.7) |
9.1 (48.4) |
11.1 (52.0) |
14.2 (57.6) |
17.3 (63.1) |
20.7 (69.3) |
23.7 (74.7) |
24.2 (75.6) |
22.6 (72.7) |
19.0 (66.2) |
14.9 (58.8) |
10.6 (51.1) |
16.3 (61.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 1.1 (34.0) |
0.7 (33.3) |
1.5 (34.7) |
4.5 (40.1) |
9.3 (48.7) |
13.7 (56.7) |
18.3 (64.9) |
19.6 (67.3) |
15.2 (59.4) |
9.1 (48.4) |
5.6 (42.1) |
2.2 (36.0) |
0.7 (33.3) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 272.9 (10.74) |
286.7 (11.29) |
428.1 (16.85) |
421.7 (16.60) |
441.0 (17.36) |
773.6 (30.46) |
311.9 (12.28) |
269.0 (10.59) |
406.1 (15.99) |
299.6 (11.80) |
303.9 (11.96) |
262.7 (10.34) |
4,477.2 (176.26) |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.5 mm) | 17.4 | 15.1 | 17.9 | 14.2 | 14.1 | 18.0 | 12.1 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 12.5 | 13.1 | 15.0 | 178.6 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 68 | 68 | 71 | 72 | 76 | 83 | 82 | 81 | 79 | 73 | 70 | 68 | 74 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 73.7 | 79.1 | 107.0 | 137.9 | 151.8 | 115.8 | 220.8 | 201.3 | 145.0 | 119.9 | 96.0 | 84.2 | 1,532.5 |
| Source 1: 平年値（年・月ごとの値） | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: 観測史上1～10位の値（7月としての値） (records) | |||||||||||||
Wildlife
- Migratory Sea Turtles
- Deer (Yakushika)
- Monkey (Yakushima macaque), red bottomed macaque
- Tanuki, not a native animal
See also
- Yakusugi
- Jōmon Sugi
- Yakushima White Pine
- Ernest Henry Wilson - Wilson stump
- List of Special Places of Scenic Beauty, Special Historic Sites and Special Natural Monuments
- List of World Heritage Sites in Japan
- List of national parks of Japan
- Ramsar sites in Japan
References
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty|title=(help)
- ^ a b "Introducing places of interest: Kirishima-Yaku National Park". Ministry of the Environment. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
- ^ "Biosphere Reserve Information - Yakushima". UNESCO. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
- ^ "Ramsar Sites in Japan - Yakushima Nagata-hama" (PDF). Ministry of the Environment. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
- ^ "Kirishima-Yaku National Park". Natural Parks Foundation. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
- ^ "World Heritage Nomination - IUCN Summary" (PDF). UNESCO World Heritage Committee. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
- ^ http://www.climate-charts.com/Countries/Japan.html
- ^ "World Heritage - Yakushima". Japan Airlines. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
- ^ "Yakushima: Shiratani Unsuikyo". japan-guide.com. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
External links
- UNESCO World Heritage Site Entry
- Yakumonkey
- Forest and tree photos from Yakushima old-growth forests
