Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
trance of homes, shrines and graves and on rooftops. Often set in pairs, the one with the open mouth
summons good fortune, the one with the closed mouth prevents its escape. Together they keep evil
from coming into the house.
One thing that's definitely not possible by air, unless you pilot or charter your own plane,
is island hopping in a straight line from one island to another. For that, you're going to have
to get your feet wet, figuratively, not literally. In other words, to island hop, you'll have to take
an ocean cruise or, more precisely, one of the many sea ferry voyages that run throughout the
Ryukyus.
Don't worry, for this is no hardship and is indeed a great way to meet the people of the
Ryukyus and discover their wonderful way of life. Although any sailing will take longer than
an air flight, the opportunity to live life as the people who live here do will be un-surpassed
and worth every minute of your time. One final consideration: in many cases, you've got no
choice but to sail. There are no airports and thus no flights to many of the Ryukyu Islands. So,
for example, if you wish to navigate and explore the Amazon of Japan, the Urauchi-gawa, the
longest river in Okinawa, on Iriomotejima Island, then you'll have to take a local ferry from
Ishigaki. There's simply no other way to get there.
Every day throughout the year in the Ryukyus there are scores of ships shuttling around
from one island to another. Carrying `assengers and hauling vehicles and freight, the Japan-
ese ferry service is the lifeline of the Nansei-shotÅ. Short distances, under an hour or two, are
handled by local ferries. Generally, these are small ships, under 50-60 feet (15-20 meters)
in length. For islands further than two, three or four hours sailing time from Kagoshima or
Okinawa, larger ships of 330 feet (100 meters) and more, are used. As for the expense, nat-
urally the longer the sailing distance, the more remote the island, the less frequent and more
expensive the ferry service will be. Ferries are not inexpensive but they can sometimes be a
good deal less than airfares to the same destinations.
As a very rough approximation of fares, a journey of an hour will cost around $10-$15.
A longer trip of two hours will run to $25. A four-six hour sailing will set you back about
$50-$75, and an overnight journey will cost around $100-$125. Halve those numbers for
your bicycle, if you bring one. Figure about the same amount as the passenger fare for a mo-
torcycle, and double those numbers for your car
