WARNIG in Yakushima island :don't stay at CHIN-RYU-AN

sigh.... I am not here for smear attack....

Here, I notes some recommended accommodations for people who plans to go to Yakushima and are looking for nice place to stay!

1, Yakusugi-so �@�i‚â‚­‚·‚¬‘‘�j
2, Manten �i‚Ü‚ñ‚Ä‚ñ�j
3, seikou-udoku �i�°�k‰J“Ç�j
4, Shikino-yado �iŽl‹G‚Ì�h�j
5,Ebisu �i‚¦‚Ñ‚·�j
6, Saikai �i�ʊC�j
7, Nature boy

Bon Voyage, Ciao!

I have recently travelled to Japan, in April 2010 to be more precise, and have visited a few islands south of Kyushu,
including Yakushima.

I stayed for 5 nights at Chin-Ryu An, and would like to share my opinion about that guesthouse.

My experience differs completely from the one described by lechat in 2007. I would definitely recommend Chin-Ryu An
to any traveller!

It is a very well-maintained, clean, quiet guesthouse conveniently located 1 minute from a bus stop. The food offered
is very good as well. Not really in the extremely low budget range, but still quite affordable and very good value for the price paid.

The owner is a friendly, welcoming gentleman who speaks more than adequate English. I don't speak any Japanese, so
I was glad to be able to have discussions with him about a variety of subjects. When the owner didn't know a word or an expression, he even made the effort to look it up on the Internet!

He shared plenty of useful information about Yakushima with both his Japanese and foreign guests.

All prices are clearly displayed throughout the guesthouse (for example the price for drinks, washing machine, use
of the kitchen). One can simply note down his or her expenses and then compare them with the owner's invoice at
the check-out - that's how I did it and I didn't have any problems.

As for the other Japanese guests, when I was there, there were two friendly girls who spoke some French and English,
and I certainly wouldn't describe them as xenophobic! That said, I wasn't there in 2007 during lechat's stay, so I cannot
comment on the possible xenophoby of the Japanese guests back then.

And as for lechat's comment on the owner being a loser because he is "a escaper from metropolitan" - well that's just mean. The only important thing for a traveller should be that the owner is good at being a guesthouse owner. And he is!

Yakushima sounds a great place and I will go to CHIN-RYU-AN next March and see. Certainly any valid criticism should not include where the staff or owner may have come from. Also if you dont speak the language you can't assume what you are being asked or charged for. Generally I have found Japanese the most honest people I have ever met. I lived in Kansai for two years - 30 years ago ! and loved every minute of it.