Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Nentō Hira-matsu, aptly nicknamed the “Umbrella Pine” for its spreading branches, is a 250-year-old-Ry-
ukyu black pine. It is one of Okinawa's two famous pines, the other being Kume's Five-branched Pine.
The Noho Great Bridge connects mainland Iheya and Noho Island to its south.
Yonezaki Beach used to be the end of the road but in 1978 a 203-foot (62-meter)-long
bridge was built connecting mainland Iheya to little Noho Island. The old bridge was replaced
by a new larger bridge, Noho ōhashi (
野甫大橋
; lit. Noho Great Bridge) in 2003/4 to accom-
modate heavier truck traffic. Let's cross this bridge when we come to it and go to Noho.
NOHOJIMA
(
野甫島
; Noho-jima). This is the third inhabited islet in our final set of islands
comprising the Okinawa-shotō. It's less than 330 feet (100 meters) south of Iheya and used to
be separated from its much larger neighbor, but over 30 years ago a bridge was constructed
linking the two. It's difficult to say whether Noho Island more resembles a square or a rect-
angle. It's not very uniform one way or another. It's a tiny postage stamp of an island, less
than a mile (1.3 kilometers) at its longest, more or less east to west, and a little less than three-
quarters of a mile (1 kilometer) from north to south. Its total surface area is less than half a
square mile (1.06 square kilometers) and much of it is cultivated with sugar cane.
