Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Iheya is served twice daily by the Iheya passenger and vehicle ferry from Okinawa's Unten Port.
As a result of this schedule, it's not possible to make a meaningful one-day visit to Iheya
since 40 minutes really does not do the island justice. You'll have to spend the night. That's,
of course, no big hardship because Iheya is a particularly beautiful island, easily worth a day
or two of your time.
Iheya is long and narrow with dramatically high mountains for an island of its size. From
end to end, it's about 9 miles (14 kilometers) north to south, and anywhere from three-quar-
ters of a mile to 1.75 miles (1-3 kilometers) wide from east to west. Its surface area is not
quite 8 square miles (20 square kilometers) and its circumference is almost 25 miles (40 kilo-
meters). Over 80 percent percent of the island is a mountain range over 660 feet (200 meters)
tall. Its highest point is Mt Kayō ( 賀陽山 ; Kayō-san) at 294 meters (965 feet). In between its
many mountains, Iheya's relatively small portions of arable land are fully cultivated and there
are especially productive valleys planted with rice and sugar cane.
The population of Iheya is approximately 1,350. That's down from around 2,000 in the
1970s and 3,000 in the 1960s. It's sometimes hard to discern where one village leaves off and
another begins, but there are perhaps four or five distinct villages scattered about, but most
are on the central or southeastern side of the island. Many of Iheya's residents live in the is-
land's largest village, Iheya village, which for all practical purposes encompasses Maedomari,
the port. It is located on the central east coast. For a small town, it's spread over quite a dis-
tance and it's not accurate to call it compact. It's a pleasant town with a half dozen minshuku
and several good restaurants. Note, however, that none of the minshuku are very close to the
port and so walking upon arrival is not a very good option. All will pick you up at the ferry
terminal when you arrive if you make a reservation beforehand. There is also some lodging
on Noho. We'll discuss that islet further below. For those camping (and thus will not get
picked up by a minshuku ), there are car and bicycle rentals at the harbor so you can get your
vehicle on arrival and go.
For the Ryukyu sightseer interested in the beautiful scenery of some of the smaller islands
and interested in a traditional way of life perhaps not so commonly found today on a “big”
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