Yakushima

Yakushima has a humid subtropical climate and is famous for its lush vegetation

Yakushima

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Yakushima is a primeval temperate rainforest extending from the centre of the almost round-shaped, mountainous Yakushima Island.

The montane temperate rainforest of Yakushima is globally distinct, due to its peculiar ecosystem with abundant rheophytes and epiphytes that have adapted to the high rainfall, in excess of 8,000 mm annually, and resulting humid environment. Home to some 1,900 species and subspecies of flora, 16 mammal species and 150 bird species, it exhibits a rich biodiversity including the landscape of the Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica), a primeval forest composed of trees called “Yakusugi”, which are over 1,000 years in age. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/662