Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
If you're interested, next door to Sugira Beach and its children's playground is Kikai's
only golf course. It's a nine-hole set-up and guest privileges are available. It's called the Kikai
Garden Golf Course (
喜界ガーデンゴルフ
; Kikai gāden gorufu) and it's located in between
the airport and the beach. An errant wild shot has an equal chance of landing on the runway
or in the ocean.
Before leaving this southwest section of the island, there's one more thing worth mention-
ing. Just a little to the west of the end of the airport runway and Sugira Beach begins what
is called the “Esplanado” (
遊歩道
; Esplanado). It's a 1.5-mile-(2.4-kilometer)-long path run-
ning north to south along the island's far western shore. It ends at Araki (
荒木
; Araki) village.
It's mostly coral and rock, but sections of the trail also go through dense banyan tree groves,
and at one point there's an observatory with splendid views of the sea. It's a beautiful walk,
one of the nicest you'll find anywhere. It's also Kikai's best place to watch the sun set into the
ocean. Incidentally, some signs refer to it by a rather longer name: the Arakinakasato Prom-
enade (
荒木中里遊歩道
; Arakinakasato Esplanado).
There's one more sightseeing attraction not far from this end of the island. A little less
than a mile (2 kilometers) southeast of Araki, you'll see signs for the Gajyumaru Big Banyan
Tree (
ガジュマル巨木
; Gaju maru kyo boku). There's no question about it, it's big. And if you
really like giant banyan trees, there's a whole grove of them about halfway up the escarpment
on the way to Nakanishi Park. It's called the Couple Banyan Tree (
夫婦ガジュマル
; Fūfu gaju
maru) and there are well over a dozen of them—all giants. The road goes right through it.
We'll drive there next.
At this point we've been more or less following Kikai's circle-island road, Route 619,
counter-clockwise. From the Giant Banyan to the Couple Banyans, it's about 4 miles (6 kilo-
meters). The road goes around the southernmost end of Kikai, then heads north along the
east coast. Watch for the signs for the Couple Banyan and Nakanishi Park just after the vil-
lage of Keraji (
花良治
; Keraji). The left-hand turn is less than half a mile (0.7 kilometer) north
just after exiting the village. From the turn-off at Route 619, it's a bit more than 1.5 miles (2.4
kilometers) up a twisting, winding road past the Couple Banyans to the Nakanishi Park.
You will crest the mountain and find yourself on the top of Kikai's escarpmen. This spot is
crowned by a little observation platform on the island's highest point at 695 feet (212 meters)
at Nakanishi Park (
中西公園
; Nakan-ishi kōen). On a clear day, you'll get some splendid
views looking down over the cultivated fields, the small villages and the unending expanse
of the Pacific Ocean. Incidentally, if you look behind you to the west, you'll see a fairly large
