Minshuku Suginosato

The owner is kind and fantastic, and cooked delicious dishes with seasonal ingredients from the sea and his own garden. When I left early for a hike, he drove me to the bus pickup stop and had prepared a lovely bento box the night before. He was happy to explain the Yakushima-local ingredients and dishes whenever I had questions. It's a very traditional place, so the walls may be thin. I can recommend it!

This is a Japanese-style pension run by a family. Everyone was very friendly, and the local food was really nice. Try having both dinner and breakfast there, it's amazing.

It was very quiet during our off-season visit, with hardly any other guests. In the guest room there's a notebook full of past visitors' memories, which gives you a sense of how loved this guesthouse is. The food made with local ingredients was delicious. If you ask the day before, breakfast and lunch boxes for your hike will be ready by the time you leave. The Arakawa trailhead and its bus stop are easy to reach, and Morihisa Shrine on the Yakushima Kotsu line is about a 5-minute walk away. Once night fell, it was pitch black and the stars looked beautiful.

The rooms have thin walls, so you can nearly hear people in the next room snoring or talking. On the plus side, there's a shower and a toilet with a bidet, so the basics are covered. You can keep supermarket beer in the fridge by the entrance and drink it in your room. Dinner portions are huge, and rice refills are free. You can taste the care in the ingredients and flavors. Order by 7pm and they'll prepare breakfast and lunch boxes as well.