Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Kerama Deer (
ケラマジカー
)
Found only on the three Aka Islands plus Yakabi, Kerama deer (
Cervus nippon keramae
) were brought
from Kagoshima Prefecture 400 years ago. They are small, about 75 kilograms (165 lbs) in weight and
dark brown or even black with white rumps. Only bucks have horns, which they shed in the early
spring to grow new ones. The deer are considered a pest by farmers but are loved by tourists. They
are protected. The best chance of sighing one is early morning or late aternoon, before sunset.
8
AKAJIMA
阿嘉島
This is the third largest of the Kerama Islands with an area of 1.5 square miles (3.8 square
kilometers). Akajima (
阿嘉島
;
A
ka-jima) is located less than a mile (2 kilometers) to the
southwest of Zamami. Were it not for a fairly large indentation, a bay, on its west coast,
it would be a near perfect square. From almost any end to any other end, east-west or
north-south, it measures about 1.25 miles (2 kilometers) across. It has a circumference of
7.75 miles (12.3 kilometers) and its highest point is 614 feet (187 meters) at Mt Naka (
中
岳
; Naka-daké; lit. “Central Peak”). The population is about 350, most of whom live in Aka
Port (
阿嘉港
; Aka-kō), the only village on the island. There are over 20
minshuku
and 15 dive
shops in the village.
The closest points of land between Aka and Zamami are only 1 mile (1.5 kilometers)
apart, from Aka's northernmost little tip at Cape Kuro (
黒崎
; Kuro-zaki) to Zamami's south-
western end at Shirugusuku (
白城の崎
; Shiru-gusuku no zaki; lit. “White Castle Cape”). The
ferry distance from port to port, however, is about 3.5 miles (5.5 kilometers). That's still not
far, of course, and it only takes 10 minutes. All the Naha-Zamami ferries stop at Aka, either
coming or going and, in addition, there is a local passenger-only speedboat, the
Mitsu Shima
,
that sails between the two islands four times a day during the summer season. Motor vehicles
cannot be accommodated but bicycles can.
