Navakaraṇa Retreat - Navakaraṇa Kyorei

Experience Magic in the Magical Island

Yakushima is waiting for you with wonders. The island offer magical and unpredictable moments. Weather can be hot and sunny, stormy and rainy, cloudy and wet, or just perfect. Adaptiveness and enjoying the magic mystic place is part of the experience.

Accommodation

Our guesthouse is located at the very south of Yakushima adjacent to Navakaraṇa Kyorei. The guesthouse offers two categories of twin occupancy rooms:

Tatami room with futon
Bedroom with bunk beds

The Journey

In this retreat Dario will take you to explore yourself through mediation of Nature healing energies and Navakaraṇa practices. The day starts before sunrise, with mediation, offerings, cleanses, practices that take you to the core of your true being.

Immerse into the natural beauty we will connect with untouched nature, in the mossy forest, ocean, river and waterfall. The day sets with sound mediation and restorative practice, and delicious vegan food. Fresh plant-based meals are prepared for you by our Navakaraṇa culinary team with local organic ingredients. You can experience the taste of fresh ingredients and much love in every bite.

Our programme is specially curated for you with the unique Navakaraṇa Kyorei Experiences combining traditional Japanese culture, transformative physical and mental training, traditional Japanese tea ceremony, ZenCha with live shakuhachi and organic lifestyle for a holistic and one-of-a kind experience of a lifestyle.

17-20 April 2025

Yakushima (屋久島) is one of the Ōsumi Islands in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Yakushima is a unique remnant of warm temperate ancient forest and natural World Heritage site since 1993.

Yakushima has been settled since at least the Jōmon period (BCE 縄文時代, Jōmon jidai 14,000–300 BCE). Yakushima contains one of the largest tracts of existing Nansei Islands subtropical evergreen forests, an endangered habitat ecoregion. The only large animals indigenous to the island are red-bottomed macaques (Yakushima macaque) and a variety of sika deer (yakushika). The Japanese raccoon dog is also a common animal, but is not native to the island. Japanese weasels (Mustela itatsi) may also be seen from time to time. The island is a spawning ground for migratory loggerhead turtles, and dolphins are to be found offshore. It has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because they support populations of Japanese wood pigeons, Ryukyu green pigeons and Ryukyu robins.
Yakushima is famous for its lush vegetation and yakusugi (屋久杉) millenarian cedar tree. The best known single example of which is named the Jōmon Sugi (縄文杉), as its age is estimated to date to at least 2300 years ago. In addition, the island lists over 50 varieties of endemic flower, notably rhododendrons, and hundreds of rare endemic Bryophyta, as well as a number of endemic trees. In 1980, an area of 18,958 ha (46,850 acres) was designated a UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserve. In 1993, 10 hectares (25 acres) of wetland at Nagata-hama was designated a Ramsar Site. It is the largest nesting ground for the endangered loggerhead sea turtle in the North Pacific.

Weather
The weather on the island is unpredictable. It can be super hot and sunny for 7 days straight, we can get heavy rain, storms and windy for 7 days. It can also be sunny, rainy, windy, cloudy and clear sky with rainbows on the same day! Participants need to be able to adjust.

Environment

There is amazing nature on this special island, ocean, mountain hikes, hot-springs, waterfalls, forest moss and much more which we would not want to miss. We will arrange excursions according to weather conditions for you to have the best experience.

Access to Yakushima

You can reach Yakushima by airplane or by ferry. There are direct flights to Yakushima from Kagoshima (Kagoshima Airport), Fukuoka (Hakata Airport) and Osaka (Itami Airport).

An alternative option is to take the High Speed Ship Jetfoil operated by “Toppy” and “Rocket” from Kagoshima Port. Some jetfoil stops first at Tanegashima then Yakushima, another reaches directly Yakushima. Please be reminded to not get off at Tanegashima but at Yakushima. You can book jetfoil online or locally (if any empty seats are available). There are also ferries operating the same route but they take longer. The Hibiscus Ferry for instance operates overnight and arrives at Yakushima in the morning. This could be an option if you prefer to skip staying a night at Kagoshima. No reservations are required for the ferry. These are purchased locally.

What could be an economical option can turn into a more expensive one as if the weather is not optimal the ferry will be cancelled and you may end up paying a extra night in a hotel.

Weather condition is unpredictable on our rainforest island, flights and ferries may be cancelled. Consider extra time when you plan the itinerary. You need to arrive at Yakushima a day prior to the programme.

Our advice

The best route for reaching Yakushima from overseas is:

Fly to Kagoshima International Airport then take a walk of 3 minutes to the Kagoshima Domestic Airport, then fly directly to Yakushima Airport

Alternatively:

Fly to Osaka, Kansai International Airport; then take a bus transfer to Osaka Itami Domestic Airport (takes 50 minutes and costs about ¥2000) then fly directly to Yakushima Airport.