Kinsakubaru National Forest

Kinsakubaru National Forest on Amami-Oshima is a habitat for species found nowhere else in the world, shaped by the island's heavy, consistent rainfall. Tree ferns with their wide fronds and oval-scarred trunks are common along the 1-kilometer path, which turns back at a large Okinawa oak with massive buttress roots. Epiphytes anchor across tree trunks from base to canopy. Both resident and migratory birds move through the forest, and the venomous habu viper is also present. Entry is permitted only with a certified guide, which keeps visits small and the forest relatively undisturbed.