THE AMAMI ISLANDS - Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands - page 111

(5 kilometers) wide and towards its narrow pointy end it's less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers).
The airport is at the far northeasternmost point.
Okinoerabujima is home to about 16,000 people who are more or less evenly divided into
the island's two towns of China ( 知名町 ; Chee-na-chō) and Wadomari ( 和泊町 ; Wado-mari-
chō). Wadomari has the larger of the island's two main ports, ( 和泊港 ; Wadomari-kō) and
this one is used by the Marix and “A” Line Ferry services. The other port is at China.
Okinoerabu is a coral island and thus almost all its coast is ringed by coral reefs. It's a
popular island for snorkelers and divers. As is the case on other good diving islands in the Ry-
ukyus, there are competent dive shops where advice, instruction and equipment rentals may
be had. The only problem for some is that English is not often spoken. Never mind, divers
are used to communicating in sign language. Both inside and outside the reef you can see
all kinds of colorful fish and other sea creatures. It's not uncommon to view sea turtles, sea
snakes and stingrays or the occasional octopus or reef shark.
Several sections of Okinoerabu's interior are quite mountainous and provide good hiking
opportunities. Several sections of the shoreline are high cliffs, which also make for interesting
walks. If you're one of those people with a great fear of snakes, you need not worry when hik-
ing here as Okinoerabu is one of the three Ryukyus, along with Kikai and Yoron, to be free
of them. However, the island is big enough, and hilly enough, that unless you're a mountain
biker it might be easier to see it all with a rental car or scooter. You can complete a full circle
island jaunt in a couple of hours, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) on the main road around the
island.
The island's flat portions are, as would be expected, devoted primarily to agriculture. In
addition to the usual sugar cane and sweet potato fields, if you're lucky and are there in late
winter or early spring, you'll see thousands upon thousands, maybe even millions, of 3-foot
(1-meter)-high spiky green stalks capped with brilliant white lilies, for Okinoerabu is famous
for its “Erabu” variety ( 永良部鉄砲百合 ; Erabu-téppō-yuri; Latin: Lilium longiforum ). This is
the “classic” form of the lily, better known in the West as the “Easter” or “trumpet” lily. The
Japanese word for any lily is yuri . “Téppō” means a match-lock rifle and has its origins on
Tanégashima, described on page 22 . This lily is believed to have originated on southern Ky-
ushu and the Ōsumi Islands, which includes Tanéga. The lily draws its name from the Tané-
gashima Téppō rifles that were introduced, then copied, from the Portuguese. For this reas-
on, sometimes you'll see these lilies referred to or translated as “rifle” lilies. On Okinoerabu
today, they are grown for the horticulture trade and shipped all over the world. If you happen
to be on the island around Easter, the almost-glowing white fields are a spectacular sight.