Yakushima bus schedules

From what I see, there are few buses around Yakushima. I am torn between renting a car and using the bus.

I want to go to Shiratani but it seems that there is only one bus and four buses per day? Does anyone know what are their timings?

There is a section of the roads that are only accessible by cars, is it a special or beautiful place? I really do not know whether taking a bus or renting a car is better.

Lastly, it seems that only parts of Yakushima is considered UNESCO heritage. Is this area accessible? It seems to be far from the trails and roads.

Hi,

You can find the timetable at the left below of the documents.
But as you see,there are not so many buses.
I recommend you to rent a car.

http://www1.ocn.ne.jp/~yakukan/download.htm

http://www.yakukan.jp/doc/pdf/e_yakubus141001.pdf


If you like to visit the part of UNESCO heritage,it would be around 10hours-trail and back.
You can find English-speaking guide.

http://www.yesyakushima.com/

When I visited Yakushima last year (May 2014), I took the bus to Shiratani. My friend and I didn't want to spend a lot of money renting car so we took the bus.
We bought the bus pass and even though there were limited bus times, it was still enough for us because we had the time.
We spent 1 full day for Jomonsugi,
1 full day for Yakusugi Land (both takes 45-75mins to get there by bus, w/ transfers) and half-day for Shiratani Unsuikyo, catching the first bus of the day for each destination.

If you want freedom to come and go, renting a car would be your best bet.
Since Yakushima is an island, people there wake up early and sleep early so we were up early ourselves and didn't have any difficulty catching the first bus.

Bus schedules changes in frequency bet Nov to March and March to Nov. It is best to check it first and decide which you prefer to do - car or bus.

I am torn between renting a car and using the bus.

I visited the island 2 years ago, and would not hesitate to recommend a rental car.

Thank you for your responses but I have already been there and back.

but I have already been there and back.

Would be nice to hear your experience, especially if you ended up travelling by bus.