Yakushima, Japan
One of the Ōsumi Islands in Japan's Kagoshima Prefecture is Yakushima. There are 13,178 people living on the island, which is 504.88 km2 (194.94 sq mi) in size. You can go to the island via hydrofoil ferry from Kagoshima seven or eight times a day, depending on the season; by slow car ferry from Kagoshima once or twice a day; or by plane to Yakushima Airport three to five times a day from Kagoshima, once a day from Fukuoka, and once a day from Osaka. The town of Yakushima serves as the administrative center of the entire island. Additionally, the town supplies Kuchinoerabujima, which is nearby. Within the boundaries of Yakushima National Park, 42% of the island is located.More than half of Yakushima's electricity comes from hydroelectric sources, and Kagoshima University has experimented with using excess power to create hydrogen gas. Honda's research on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles has been tested on the island. The municipality operates electric vehicles instead of hydrogen vehicles on the island.The sole airport on the island is Yakushima Airport (KUM). Japan Air Commuter, a JAL subsidiary, operates scheduled commercial flights. The runway was being extended from 1500 to 2000 meters as of 2019, which will enable jet aircraft to operate and service a greater number of destinations. The runway development has not advanced and is still just 1500 meters long as of January 2024.
