YES! Yakushima

  Our group was family, four of us participating in a one day tour of the island with UNESCO forest highlights-focus on the natural beauty and world of Yakushima. We got... read more to know the island through our guide; we saw many monkeys, deer, waterfalls, forest, ocean views, beaches, you name it!

Tour guide Steve was friendly, knowledgeable, flexible, set a great pace, felt I had seen all there was to see within the time allowed.

All in our group were very pleased with all aspects of the guide and tour.

  We used Yes Yakushima for a few things including a full day hike (Yakusugi Land + yamato sugi hike), trial dive for scuba diving (via another vendor), and also to... read more book our rental car on the island. Overall, we had a really good experience and I would recommend them to anyone travelling to the island. Here is where they really stood out:
1) Very quick responses to inquiries about options and things to do
2) Each vendor they used for us -- car rental via Destino and scuba via Kaiolohia were fantastic and we had a great experience.
3) Quality of hiking guide (Steve) - I cant express enough how much we enjoyed our hike with Steve. We did it on our first day and learned so much during our time about the island, the trees, and the flora/fauna. There were so many times we would have normally just walked by something by Steve highlighted it and helped us understand why something was important for the forest. The 7 hour roundtrip flew by and we had a great time just having conversations about Japan, life, etc. Cant recommend this enough.

We have done a few different guided activities in Japan and this was certainly one of our top experiences.

  We wanted to have a tour outside the main touristic spots, Steve showed us hidden parts of the forest, taking us to magnificent cedar trees. Not only he explained really... read more well the history of Yakushima, he also gave us lot of knowledge about Japan, from flowers till politics. I totally recommend! We will book a tour again.

  We cannot recommend Steve enough. He was one of the best guides we have ever engaged. We had a group 10; 6 of which were children, and Steve was a... read more gracious guide to adult and child alike. We could have sent the kids alone. Not only did he take us through this amazing forest, he had a David Attenborough-like knowledge of the surroundings: the biology, the geology, the culture. It was truly educational. The 6-hours flew by and we were disappointed when it was over.

  We cannot recommend Steve enough. He was one of the best guides we have ever engaged. We had a group 10; 6 of which were children, and Steve was a... read more gracious guide to adult and child alike. We could have sent the kids alone. Not only did he take us through this amazing forest, he had a David Attenborough-like knowledge of the surroundings: the biology, the geology, the culture. It was truly educational. The 6-hours flew by and we were disappointed when it was over.

  Steve was an awesome tour guide and a huge help when some of our travel plans went sideways! He helped translate with the ferry and hotel to make sure we... read more were set up for the night when we weren't able to get off island the day we expected due to some bad weather. He is super knowledgeable about the island and japan, and was very responsive to our questions leading up to the tour.

Fantastic experience! Highly recommend to anyone journeying to Yakushima.

  Steve was an awesome tour guide and a huge help when some of our travel plans went sideways! He helped translate with the ferry and hotel to make sure we... read more were set up for the night when we weren't able to get off island the day we expected due to some bad weather. He is super knowledgeable about the island and japan, and was very responsive to our questions leading up to the tour. Fantastic experience! Highly recommend to anyone journeying to Yakushima.

  Amazing, Amazing, Amazing!! Steve is a wealth of information, awesome guide (became a friend really), better than a local due to the number of years living in this island... read more and raising a family. Passionate and cares about the island. Learned a lot from him about the place and hope to do another trip with him. Hats off to Steve

  Amazing, Amazing, Amazing!! Steve is a wealth of information, awesome guide (became a friend really), better than a local due to the number of years living in this island... read more and raising a family. Passionate and cares about the island. Learned a lot from him about the place and hope to do another trip with him. Hats off to Steve …

  I had a wonderful time with Steve. We visited Princess Mononoke's forest. It was my dream! But Steve's tour was much more than that. I learned so much about the... read more history of Yakushima, why it is so beautiful, and why it is so special today. Want to know the answer? Take a tour with Steve!