Together with my brand new friend Yuiko, I went to Shiratani Unsuikyo, which is famous for its rapids and also because a part of the forest has been used as inspiration for the forest in the anime Mononoke hime (Princess Mononoke).
On the way to the entrance of Shiratani Unsuikyo, there were a couple of really cute monkeys on the road. They didn’t even move when we came nearer with the car, they just lazed there. The hiking in Shiratani Unsuikyo was easier than it was at Yakusugi land, though it was sometimes hard to tell where the path was. We also came across quite a lot of people, such as a group of students. We also met a group that Yuiko had met before. One of the ladies was 60 years old, which amazed me because I really couldn’t imagine my grandma hiking the forest at that age. Everyone was very friendly and greeted us, which was really nice.
Yuiko was leaving that afternoon, but we still had some time left so we went to Isso in the north of the island.
We first went to the Shitoko Gajumaru-en Banyan Garden, which had lots of Banyan trees. They were very impressive, though creepy at the same time because they sort of looked like they had tentacles that would strangle you. Afterwards we went to the Isso lighthouse, which turned out to be locked. However, we did have a great view of the ocean there.
We went to Anbo then, where Yuiko dropped off her rental car and took the ferry back to Kagoshima. I went back to Onoaida and made a walk in the town. Once the sun started to set, it was pitch dark within 30 minutes so I was happy I was back at the hotel already for dinner.
