Boarded the bus today and was delighted to see the front row reserved for me! I hadn’t asked but I do like that some clever shorex manager has arranged that. Not entitled at all, much! 

We are still in Kyushu, and the locals have a saying: expect 35 days of rain each month! It was cooler, humid but luckily it didn’t rain on us. 

Yakushima was created 14 million years ago by granitic magma uplift, and consists of more than three dozen mountains over 1000m, and massive boulders. There are a thousand animal species, more than 700 of which are marine, and 1900 species of plants. 

Yakusugi cedars live more than a thousand years (regular cedars do 500). The famous Jomonsugi cedar is 2000-7200 years old but can’t be more precisely dated without causing damage to the tree. There was a wipeout event 7200 years ago so they have that end confirmed! It has a 16.4-metre diameter, and it’s a 22km hike to get there, very challenging, and not for me. But you might like it, Patrick Southey!

We are at 30°N so it’s subtropical most of the year on the coast but icy and snowy in winter, similar to Hokkaido! Another weirdness.

Yakushima was Japan’s first UNESCO World Heritage site, and is also a Ramsar site and a Biosphere Reserve, the only place in Japan to get all three. There are rivers and mangroves, waterfalls, 24 villages, a population of 12,000, and the town welcomes 250,000 visitors a year. 

Finally, we are back at sea for the next 24 hours, bliss. It’s 280nm to our next destination and we are doing a smooth 12 knots. So it’s along to the bridge to chat to the marine crew, who even encouraged me to drive the ship. Everyone is so lovely.

A quick power nap and it’s time to do it all again. Down to the lounge for pre-dinner games, French melodies by Francesco the luscious Italian singer, the dancers did the can-can and then it’s off to dinner with the New Caledonians. They got lucky actually - people are constantly asking to dine with us, lol, but there’s only so many meals in the day. I think we are pretty much booked out for the rest of the trip. This is my third cruise with Madame Commodore Jennie, who is a proper princess and leaves it to me to determine who is fun and worthy. She just asks me “who this time?” ahead of each meal and she receives a written brief in reply. I have my special list! She already has me working on Hong Kong for next week.

After dinner a dance party, and we don’t have to wake up until lunchtime, so possibly some shenanigans followed. Much dancing, I have a load of energy to burn off, and fun was had by all. Sayonara! 

r