Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Geruma has one “sight,” Takara House ( 高良家 ; Takara-ke). It's a preserved old
Okinawan-style house protected as a Japanese cultural relic. There's a 300 Yen admission
charge. It's right in the center of town, so you can't miss it.
Although Geruma may only be a small island, it has good connections. In the north it's
attached by a large bridge to Aka and at its southern end, just below the village, it's connected
by a little bridge to Fukaji.
Fukajijima is the little island that holds what used to be the Kerama Airport ( 慶良間 空
; Kerama Kūkō). It's still there, but it's not functioning. We'll go there next.
10 FUKAJIJIMA 外地島
Fukaji is located directly south of Geruma. Only 260 feet (80 meters) of water separate the
two islands, and since that narrow sea channel was bridged quite some time ago, it's been
possible to drive from Fukaji to Geruma and then from Geruma to Aka.
Fukajijima ( 外地島 ; Fukaji-jima) is an oval in shape, with two rather pointy ends. It's
about a bit less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) long from north to south and around 2,460 feet
(750 meters) wide at its widest point. It has been calculated to have a shoreline circumference
of 2.75 miles (4.6 kilometers) and its highest point is 250 feet (76 meters) above sea level. The
island is mostly a natural plateau and thus its flat top was chosen for a convenient landing
strip. The island was the Kerama Airport for about 10 years until just a few years ago when
it closed. Even though the flight from Naha was only about 10 minutes, as opposed to the
ferries which take an hour to an hour and a half, not enough passengers were willing to pay
the premium for the speed. So now the airport no longer functions. Strangely enough, it's
not been fully abandoned. The terminal's open, the lights are on, and the air-conditioning is
working, which means the building is being maintained. But for what end, who knows?
Even before the airport's closure, the island was considered uninhabited as its only occu-
pants were airport staff. They were present by day, but at night they went home to Geruma
or Aka Islands. Some flew back home to Naha every night. Since no one permanently resided
there, Fukaji was and is considered uninhabited.
Fukaji has one minor, but historic, site and one observation platform, Gaichi ( 外地展望
; Gaichi tenbō-dai). Let's hike to the observatory first. The entire airport runway, terminal
and parking lot are enclosed by chain link fencing to keep the Kerama deer from wandering
on to the runway. From inside the airport parking area, and just across from the terminal,
there's a gate with a latch. Most people assume that it's not open to the public. In fact, it's the
entrance to the path to the top of the one little hill on Fukaji. Open the latch and start hiking.
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