Yakushima: Forest Bathing in the World of Princess Mononoke
I was immersed in a crystal clear stream, ancient cedar trees towering over me, sprouting younger trees on their stomp.
This was the beginning of a week long trip in Yakushima with my friend Rika and her children. This subtropical island off the southern part of the main island of Japan is said to have inspired Hayao Miyazaki to set the scene for the movie Princess Mononoke.
Yakushima looks like a straw hat, with the rim being the one circular main road and the mountain range in the middle the top of a hat. Over 75% of its land is covered by dense forests of ancient cedar trees. The highest peak, Mount Miyanoura, stands at 1,935 meters, 6,348 feet, above sea level and it sometimes sees snow during the colder month. People opt to trek to the ancient cedar estimated at 7,000 year old, give or take a couple hundred years.
Our trip was carefully curated by a regenerative tourism consultant at Small Impact LLC. We started the trip with Forest Bathing, booking a half-day tour with Kaleido Forest, through his ardent Facebook messaging suggestions,
Makiko, the Forest Therapist brought us to a monolith to cool down and wet our toes in the cold stream. She suggested that we lay on the flat singular rock of a lava, which is the foundation of this marine volcanic island. The stream ran down from the crown of my head as I surrendered my arms and legs in a horizontal shower. This was described as "earthing", the sensation of which diffused my daily clutter, letting me tune into all my senses, pause and connect with the present moment. It was a reboot of the mind and body.
We were then led through a series of short mindfulness meditation sessions, helping us engage our five senses. We were directed away from conceptualizing and ideation: “Don’t think. Feel”, she said not.
We grounded ourselves on a flat stable surface in the woods, closed our eyes, and listened to the rustling of the leaves and the birds chirping. With a pinch of local sea salt from Nagata, we let the ocean taste seep into our body and on to the earth and beyond.
As I slowly fluttered my eyes open, another set of eyes met mine from the trunk of an old cedar tree, just like an animated object in a Disney movie. At that moment, I heard Makiko’s cue to find anything gazing at us in the woods and observing us. I had already found mine on a cedar tree.
My visiting friend Rika’s mind was still at her workplace, so the therapist had us rest our forehead into the moist softness of the moss. This is a restorative pose I use in my yoga practice. Loosening the body leads to relaxing your mind. I came to savor and befriend the moss.
Makiko noted that Rika was still stiff, so we were shown "tapping", a mindfulness massage technique to connect us to the here and now. I read this trick once in a Wall Street Journal article as an "emotional freedom technique".
The Forest Bathing session ended with a cup of fresh leaf tea whilst inviting an ornamental guest from the forest to join.
Having started off the visit to the Island by tuning in and feeling a sense of unity with Nature, I came to appreciate all surrounding aspects more vividly. I stopped and smelled the plants, petted the moss, and I started to pick out different shades of green and blue.
While I can't fend off negativity all together, I dwell less, let those ill-thoughts go, and I am learning to let go. I would highly recommend a trip to Yakushima and starting off with a grounding exercise like this one. The subsequent outdoor activities will give it a different feel, and above all, it made me respect and want to give back to the island as preached in Princess Mononoke (which I need to rewatch), sustainable living, and regenerative tourism. I recommend to book a guide for a better experience for yourself and for the Island.
Namaste.🙏
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