Turtle-watching eco tours operate between mid-May until mid–July. Please be sure to book in advance as there are a limited number of people allowed on the beach each night.  A YES guide will pick you up from your accommodation (between Anbo – Nagata) and take you to the Inakahama beach in Nagata. Guests staying in accommodation south of Anbo will be asked to meet the YES guide at the Yakushima Airport and at the end of the tour they will be returned to the Yakushima Airport. Upon arrival at the beach at around 20:30 the YES guide will register you onto the tour and once registered onto the tour, the YES guide will give you a very detailed account of the loggerhead turtles, as well as explaining the conservation project at the Inakahama Beach.

Guides from the NPO patrol the beach and once a turtle has begun to lay her eggs the NPO guides call the tour participants onto the beach. Guests enter the beach with the YES guide and watch the turtle at close range as she lays her eggs. You will see the turtle lay 100 – 120 eggs and then fastidiously cover the eggs so that there are no traces of her nest. At this point the loggerhead then heads back to the sea. The time schedule for the turtle tour is dependent upon what time `your` turtle turns up on the beach, but the latest you will leave the turtle beach is 10:30 pm. There are occasions during the season when a turtle fails to come upon the beach.

The tour must be booked at least one day in advance as we must register all participants. In order to minimize the disturbance to the turtles there is a limit on the number of people who can attend this tour each night (50 people).  To avoid disappointment then please book as early as you can.

Watching a loggerhead turtle up close as she lays her eggs is an unforgettable and moving experience.

Yakushima is an important site for both the endangered loggerhead and green turtles.  Both turtles visit Yakushima to nest on its beaches so a visit to the island has plenty of opportunities for turtle-watching.  The island is the main North Pacific nesting site for the loggerhead turtle with the major nesting sites at  Nagata, Isso, Kurio and Nakama – Nagata being the most popular.  The  nesting beach at Nagata was given protected status under the Ramsar Wetland convention.  

DO NOT attempt to go on the beach at night without a trained guide as you are highly likely to disturb these sensitive creatures during their laying cycle and you may face a heavy fine.  You CANNOT enter the beach at night between 1st May – 31st August. You can only enter the Nagata beaches on the official tours.

The turtle hatching season is between late July – early September and YES encourage visitors NOT to attempt to observe the young turtles make their way to the sea. The survival rate is as low as 1 to 5,000 and human presence on the beach during this vital early stage only adds to their stress.  During a YES Island Tour the guide can take you to the Nagata beach and during the summer months you can find the remains of turtle eggs in the sand.