Photos - Japan

	After hiking for two days over the mountainous centre of Yakushima Island off of the southern island of Kyushu, I came across these macaques, called Yakuzaru. Indigenous to the island (their name means Yaku monkeys), they are but one of many indigenous species of animals and plants found within this UNESCO World Heritage Site, Japan's only.
In the centre of Yakushima, which is almost continually shrouded in moist cloud, grow huge Yakusugi (a variety of Cedar), the oldest of which are up to 3000 years old, and 5 metres wide. Pictured is the Wilson Kabu, or Wilson stump, cut down in the 16th century, and found by an American naturalist in the last century.
	New experiences are never far away in Japan. In Ibusuki, in the extreme south of Kyushu, tourists pay to be buried in sand heated naturally by underground volcanic forces. Careful mixing of the sand is required by attendants to keep the temperature right.
On the summit of Takachiho-no-mine, in Kyushu, which holds an important part in the Japanese religion of Shinto, a hiker finishes his climb by praying at the small shrine. He silently emptied of bottle of sake over the shrine as an offering, clapped his hands, and stood rigid in prayer. Although largely unreligious, the Japanese blend customs from several religions for use in everyday life. Most marriages are shinto, while funerals are buddhist.
	In Miyazaki Prefecture in Kyushu the Takachiho Gorge makes a spectacular outing for couples hiring rowing boats. Tourist 'sites' such as this get overdeveloped and crammed with day-trippers, while the beautiful countryside around is little visited.
The legacy of Korean settlement in the 8th century, a small Miyazaki town has several temples built in the Korean style. The sign reads 'Kudara no kan,' or Kudara hall. Kudara is the Japanese name an the ancient Korean Kingdom crushed by its rivals. Its royal family fled to Japan, and settled in this town after seeking shelter on the nearby coast from a storm at sea.
	Miyazaki has miles of sandy beaches ideal for surfing. During three years of living there, I never did learn, but spent many weekends enjoying the scene nonetheless. The area narrowly missed becoming famous for something else. It's wide beaches were ideal for amphibious landings, and a massive fleet of ships was on its way in 1945 when the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was to be the Normandy invasion of the Pacific War, but was aborted after Japan surrendered.