The On waterproof collection is engineered to get you out there even in extreme conditions. To prove there’s no rain-related excuse that can’t be beaten, we’re putting it to the test in the world’s wettest places. Like the mountainous island of Yakushima, Japan, where it rains “35 days a month”.
Situated around 60km (30 miles) south of the southern tip of Japan’s Kyushu island, Yakushima is an island shrouded in mist and mystery.
The wettest place in Japan, and among the most rain-soaked destinations the world over, Yakushima is hit by at least 250mm (9.8 inches) of rain every month. In the summer typhoon season this number can triple. Annual rainfall readings reach up to 10 meters (390 inches).
The incessant rain has given rise to lush subtropical evergreen forests that lend the island a fairytale feel. Trees with warped trunks and hanging foliage seem straight from the imagination of the Brothers Grimm. Yakushima is home to some 1,900 species and subspecies of plants, including ancient specimens of the sugi (Japanese cedar). So special is its biodiversity, it has earned UNESCO World Heritage Site status.