World Heritage property

Yakushima is situated between the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean about 60 km to the south of the southernmost tip of the main island of Kyushu. A mountain range, of which Mt. Miyanoura-dake (1,936 m) is the highest peak, is located in the center of the island. On the mountainsides, numerous rivers have carved deep valleys as they flow downward. In its warm and rainy climate, the annual precipitation is more than 4,000 mm in the plains and more than 10,000 mm at the summits. The World Heritage property is an area of approximately 10,700 ha that extends from the central part of Yakushima to the coastal areas to the west.