This forest hike starts and ends in the Yakusugi Land area, but more than half the day is spent off-trail in depths of the Yakushima forest.  The Yakusugi Land forest provides ample moss scenery and a few large old sugi, but the much quieter trail to Yamato sugi is when you actually enter the real forest.

After leaving the Yakusugi Land area a 2 hour walk finally brings you to the Yamato sugi – a 3000 – 4,000 year old giant).  It sits in a quiet valley and resting by the old tree while eating lunch is recommended.
The return journey back to Yakusugi Land is along the same trail, but heading in the opposite direction gives a very different account of the forest.

Yakusugi Land is a good area to walk around in the rain as the river crossings are much safer than Shiratani Unsuikyo. There are always less people hiking around the Yakusugi Land forest than at Shiratani Unsuikyo and the forest feels more dense than at Shiratani Unsuikyo. There are also plenty of moss species to keep the camera happy and monkeys can often be viewed by the roadside on the way up to the forest.