Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In shape Izenajima is mostly round, a bit longer than wide. In size it's a little less than 3
miles (5 kilometers) in length from its central northern tip to its central southern tip. From
east to west the island's size varies from about 1.75-to 3.75 (3-6 kilometers) wide. Its area is
6 square miles (15.3 square kilometers) and its coastline circumference is 10 miles (16 kilo-
meters) long. Although most of the island is fairly flat and cultivated with sugar cane, there
are a few high points. The two highest are Mt Ufu (
大野山
; Ufuyama, also called Ōno-san)
at 394 feet (120 meters) on the northwest end, and Mt Chijin (
チヂン岳
; Chijin-daké) at 390
feet (119 meters) in the southeast.
Izena is primarily a farming island of about 1,760 occupants. As is the case with so many
of the smaller Ryukyus, that's a rather dramatic decline. Its population in 2003, less than 10
years ago, was almost 1,900. During the 1970s, it was approximately 3,000 and in the 1960s it
was 4,400. Because of the declining population on both Izena and Iheya, there are no longer
schools operating beyond junior high. Parents of high school age children must board them
on Okinawa during the week. They can come home only on weekends.
There are five distinct villages on the island and all are very small. Nakada (
仲田
), which
is located on Izena's central east coast, and where the port is located, isn't really much lar-
ger than the others, but it has almost all the
minshuku
, more than half a dozen. A particu-
larly nice one, the Mishima (
美島
or
みしま
) is only 330 feet (100 meters) from the dock. The
others are close by, all a short walk from the marine terminal, which incidentally houses an
excellent restaurant. It's no trouble finding a place to stay or eat on Izena. The main adminis-
trative town, Izena village, is only three-quarters of a mile (1 kilometer) away, more or less in
the center of the island. There are several fairly large
minshuku
there as well. The village also
holds a very nice small museum of island ethnography. It charges a modest 200 Yen admis-
sion.
The Izena passenger and vehicle ferry makes two daily round trips between Unten Port and Isena.
On the island's northwest coast, about 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) from Izena village, there
is an airstrip and a decrepit air terminal. It functioned as a working airport for a few years
but closed due to lack of traffic. The airstrip is maintained to a degree that it could be used
