The beach here, adorned with a tidalpool, acts as welcome respite from the bustle of the town, while the walks along Chapel Cliff and through the valley itself are among the best throughout the region.
Hirauchi Kaichu onsen, the tidalpool in which the man and I were poaching, is on Yakushima, an island whose cedar forest earned a spot on Unesco's World Heritage List (and was the inspiration for Hayao Miyazaki's anime classic "Princess Mononoke").
