Christian's Travel Blog

Yakushima, Japan's green hiking and hut-camping paradise, is known for its wet climate all year around ... so you'll better be prepared on a three to five days trail connecting the mountain huts. At least I was lucky, as I almost gave up to reach my last stop of my six week island-hopping voyage. Rain forecast already changed my plans, but arriving in Kagoshima - the gateway to Yakushima - a two-day dry weather window after a rainy day crossing made me rethinking: now or never! Luckily the ferry did not turn back after a rough crossing, as the captain informed that might be the case. And even better, the sun rose next morning to make my first trail up in Yakusugi Land on to Tenchuseki Rock on Tachudake a wonderful experience - hiking through ancient moss-covered cedar forest. Next day I was up early again to walk along the trails at the Shiratani Unsuikyo plateau in search for an encounter with the Yakuzaru - monkeys that live high up in the ...

Camping for two weeks at Yaeyama islands passed quickly. Whereas I was weatherwise somewhat lucky on Iriomote-jima, the Inoda Campground on Ishigaki-jima confirmed to be on the wet eastcoast - 5 days and a grey rainy sky did not allow for one morning sunrise shot. Yesterday I had my one-hour flight to Naha, Okinawa, up north. There are no more ferries these days connecting the Yaeyamas with Okinawa. And my plan was to walk straight to Tomari port to catch the last ferry to Zamami-jima, my next remote camping destination. Rushing in rain from Miebashi monorail station to Tomari port, the ticket office was closed ... and the last ferry departed 20 minutes ago. A late plane and wrong departure information upfront, and you find yourself on a rainy day in search for a cheap place to stay. I have to add here, that I do not have a local sim-card to access internet ... hence walking out there into a grey, wet late afternoon. Yep, moral was low. Finally I deci...

Although I toured the globe with a tent in my backpack for decades - preferably on my motorbike - this is my first camping experience in Japan. I spent now two weeks on Iriomote-jima and Ishigaki-jima at three out of five listed campgrounds. Three campsites are on Iriomote and two on Ishigaki, whereas the supposed best located campground on Yonehara Beach continues to be closed since last year. Don't be fooled, as still a busline 'Yonehara Campground Line' runs daily from the airport to the west coast. Therefore Inoda Auto Campground was the only option on Ishigaki - spacious and directly located in dense native bush right at Inoda Beach. There is a reception and reasonable facilities, like a sanitation block with hot showers, covered cooking facilities and a mini-shop. End of March temperatures are still around 20 degrees and weather - probably all year round - is rather changeable. Too early for swimming, except you have a wetsuit for some of the b...

Okinawa - by some compared as Japan's Hawaii - is known to most travelers to Asia and Japan in particular. It is also the favourite destination for Japanese tourists in the Ryukyus. They get what they look for - a well developed and convenient sub-tropical holiday paradise. But maybe it's only due to lack of time, as the entire island chain of some 150 islands streches over more than 1.000 km from the southern end of Kyushu to Taiwan. The Ryukyus itself are locally better known by its regional archipelagos, like the Osumi Islands, Amami Islands, Okinawa Islands, and down South the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands. So maybe it is good to have a rough guide of the journey in your mind, and it is obvious that you need time. Especially when the starting point is solotravel, backpacking and camping, whereever possible. A rough guide is not that difficult, as 'island hopping' in the Ryukyus is nowadays as simple as reliable - mostly by ferry, and larger dist...