Yakushima South Village

Great value if you do the workation plan since you get to use the rental car for half off! We came during Golden Week, worked during the weekdays and enjoyed the island during the weekends. It's a little far from the airport or ferry port but it's only one bus to the accommodation so it's pretty easy to get to. I recommend to check with the owners in advance if the restaurant is open. When we went, it was closed so you had to cook all your meals. If you have a car, great, you can drive to the closest grocery store but for people that rely on buses, there's really nothing walking distance nearby to buy for food so make sure you're prepared! Overall, the rooms, kitchen, bathrooms, lounge areas are great! And the staff are really helpful if you have any questions. You can also use LINE to communicate with them if they are not around.

The hosts and staff are very kind, warm and welcoming people. They provided plenty of local information on anywhere you wish to visit, including spots in the south of the island where not many tourists go. It is located in a very picturesque and quiet part of the island, away from the crowds, but the bus service around the island is quite regular, so it’s easy to access the forest walking trails and local beaches and onsen. Buy a bus pass for the number of days you need, as it definitely saves you money. The hostel is built of all local timber, very well crafted, and rooms are very nice and comfortable. The futon beds are quite comfortable. There are plenty of common areas and a well-equipped kitchen if you wish to cook for yourself. However, the meals (breakfast and dinners) prepared by the hosts are top quality, better then many restaurants, and are great value for money. So why cook for yourself? We want to come back again and stay longer on this beautiful part of the planet, which truly deserves its UNESCO World Heritage listing. It’s sub-tropical on the coast, yet sub-Arctic on the almost 2000 metre high mountain peaks just a few kilometres inland. Where else can we experience that, combined with cedar forests up to 3000 years old?

I spent around 7 nights at this amazing property on different dates. The location is great - I love the southern part of Yakushima with amazing ocean side onsens, even further rural feelings and ocean views with open fields. The staff at this hostel are among the kindest I have met. They also serve breakfast and dinner in addition to the common kitchen that you can use for cooking. It is a little bit far from popular hiking routes but not much of an issue if you have a car (Yakushima is not big) but may be problematic if you use the buses.

A gem of a guest house/hostel. Hosts Miki and Keiko make up for limited (but functional) English with enthusiasm, kindness and helpfulness. The accommodation is in a building attractively finished with a pine interior; the walls are thin, so noisy neighbours might cause problems, but this is unlikely. The atmosphere is calm and friendly, as are the staff. In tatami rooms and bunk rooms you sleep on a futon on tatami. All facilities are clean and modern. The kitchen is quite well equipped, with common areas to eat and socialise. Try making coffee from Miki's own roasted beans.|The location is peaceful and relatively isolated though only a short walk from the bus stop. The bus ride from Miyanoura port takes over an hour and costs ¥1430. The nearest supermarket is a ¥280 bus ride away. Buses are not frequent so unless you have your own transport sightseeing needs to be planned around the bus timetable. The unlimited rides bus pass (1-4 days, ¥2000-4000) is a great money saver, available at South Village.

Great place to stay! Cozy rooms in Japanese style, well equipped kitchen with lounge and tv area and an outside terrace. If you are looking to relax and unwind from your daily stress this is the place to be. Easy to reach with your own car on the South side of the island. There is a really fun Izakaya nearby as well as a coffee place. The people at South Village are some of the kindest you will meet including a volunteer who was out spear fishing most days and made us fresh sashimi from the fish he caught. Such hospitality you will only find on Yakushima.

I stayed at this hostel for a week. The staff were incredibly friendly and happy to tell me about the island and the local area. There’s an Izikaya 2 minutes down the road with great food and drink (especially the yakisoba), but the in-house cooking was amazing too. Their chef even cooked meals tailored to me as I was the only guest eating there. I highly recommend this hostel to anyone visiting the south area of Yakushima. Thanks for a great stay!

Really enjoyed my stay here (3 nights). The staff is friendly and helpful. I recommend getting breakfast and dinner here as the food is well prepared and there aren’t many nearby options (especially if you don’t have a car). ||The cast iron tub is a delight and the Japanese style room (tatami and futon) was large, clean and comfy. ||Good value.

This hostel was the perfect home for our stay in Yakushima. My travel companions and I slept very well in our clean room (we had a room with 2 bunk beds with curtains for each bed to our ourselves) and loved relaxing in the beautiful baths (there are two - a wooden one and an iron one) every day. Shampoo, conditioner and body wash provided by the hostel. Bring your own towel, or rent one for ¥100. It was the perfect place to come back to at the end of a long day of hiking, driving and exploring. We were also lucky enough to have two breakfasts and a dinner here at the hostel restaurant (so convenient for getting started early in the mornings and lazy evenings in). All the food is homemade and affordable, and every day there was something new and delicious — rice porridge with home made veggie side dishes, fresh salad with biscuit and soup, fried flying fish with various veggies, rice and soup. Must try if you stay here. The common space is large and well-equipped (kitchen, dining area, tetami room and a tv room). Plenty of dishes and utensils to cook with, and space to store groceries. There’s even a stash of emergency instant ramen and pasta provided by the hostel that you can buy in the common area in case you get the late night munchies. There were at least 3 other groups that stayed here at the same time, and we never had issues with sharing the space. Everyone was always respectful and even offered us food! Lastly, due to a typhoon, we unexpectedly had to stay an extra few nights and Miki made the process super easy. We loved staying here and will be back anytime we return to Yakushima. Thank you to Miki and your wonderful staff!