Buses on Yakushima

Hi all,

I'm gonna be on Yakushima for a few days in the middle of May and plan to go hiking for that time. Just a few questions on getting to/from the trails:

1) I'm arriving at the island by air and plan to start hiking from Kusugawa. Based on the timetables I've found, I'm assuming the easiest way to get there is to simply get on a bus? Is there any risk of getting on the wrong bus, or will there only really be one at any given time?

2) If I do manage to miss the bus, are there any taxis based at the airport?

3) I'll be ending the hike at Yodogawa hut and need to get back to the airport from there. From what I gather based on timetables, the only way to do that is to take either the 10:40 or 14:50 Yakushima Kotsu bus from Kigensugi to Anbo, and then switch to another bus from Anbo to the airport. Is this correct?

4) The timetable I have is dated "1 October 2014". Will that still be valid when I'm travelling? Would it be safe to book flights based on those times?

Any information at all will be appreciated, really looking forward to this trip. Thanks!

No idea on the buses. Only walked, used tour company for hikes, and taxi for intercity travel.

On airport taxis, yes there are. Each city )(town) can be walked easily but getting from town to town requires taxi, or buses.

I did a day trip to Yakushima late last year, travelling there by plane and using the buses to get around.
1) There are a couple of different buses that stop at the airport, and from memory two different bus stops. The buses travel in two different directions (clockwise/anticlockwise), so just make sure you are at the right stop. The bus stops have the timetables on them so you can make sure.
If you have time after you get off the plane, go to the little building (Yakushima Airport Tourism Association) to the left up the road just outside the terminal building to buy a bus pass (2000 yen for one day, likely to pay off).
2) I do not remember seeing any taxis, but I wasn't looking for them. I suppose you could call for one from the airport, maybe. If you are worried about missing the bus, maybe consider hiring a car and driving yourself around the island (more expensive, but can save time).
3) Yes, you will have to change buses, but you can change at stops other than Anbo (e.g. Shizenkan (Museum) and Makino). Just play around with the times, and remember the bus could be running late!
4) The website YES Yakushima keeps an updated record of the bus timetables (http://www.yesyakushima.com/yakushima-links/) as it changes twice a year - check in the month you're doing the trip just in case, although I think the main changes are just adding more buses in for the warmer months (when you will be there).
Enjoy! I went to Shiratani Unsuikyo for my hike (Ghibli fan), and it was absolutely gorgeous.

Awesome, thanks! Feeling a bit more confident now. As I'll be starting my hike on one side of the island and getting out on another, renting a car isn't really an option (otherwise I definitely would). Also I decided I didn't wanna get too stressed with the bus to the airport (after all I'm going there to get away from the stress), so I'm staying a night in Anbo before flying out.

One more thing: I read that you pay in exact change when you get off the bus, and something about displays showing the cost for different destinations. Could someone explain this in a little bit more detail? And what if you don't have exact change?

http://youtu.be/qEO32tc323o

Oh brilliant, thanks!

There is a two-day bus pass option, but it might not pay off if you're only using it for airport travel on the second day. Don't worry about keeping up with the fare costs - when you insert your ticket into the machine, it will tell you how much you owe anyway. Just collect change for your trip!