Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Depending on whether they are home or not, Noho has a population of about 140. Most
residents live in the one small village which you reach as soon as you cross over the bridge.
By the way, if you make the very first right-hand turn after the bridge, which is just before en-
tering the village proper, you'll find Noho's very friendly and hospitable
minshuku
. It's called,
logically enough: Minshuku Noho (
民宿のほ
). It's a nice place to stay as there is an excellent
beach just across the street. Tatami-style rooms are reasonably priced and your meals are in-
cluded in the rates. They take some special pride in serving the very freshest of fish in the
evening meal. In the summer they use their large manicured lawn for outdoor music concerts
and barbeques. It's nothing fancy but it's a most relaxed environment and you'll discover that
some of your fellow guests have been coming here for years.
Noho's friendly and hospitable Minshuku Noho.
Here's another little surprise for such a small island. Noho has a delightful little Salt Mu-
seum. It's called the Noho Salt Museum (
倶楽部野甫の塩
; Kurabu Noho no shio). The owner
has traveled the world visiting salty places. He's studied the subject, he's taken pictures, he's
got samples which he's prepared into exhibits and he'll be glad to show you around. They also
sell the very finest sea salt at the museum shop.
At Noho's southwesternmost tip you'll find the Shimazaki Seashore (
島崎海岸
; Shima-za-
ki kaigan), a great scenic spot. You'll have a beautiful view to a group of large offshore rocks
and there are mangrove trees where the shore meets the sea. From here you can see Izena
and, on a clear day, Okinawa. Some 2,780 feet (850 meters) across the island to its south-
easternmost end you'll find a nice, although small, beach, some large rock formations and a
good view to Gushikawa Islet. Also at this southernmost point you'll see an ancient freshwa-
ter well. You can peer down its shaft. It's deep, much deeper than you might have assumed.
The well is virtually in the shadow of the modern electricity generating windmill.
FIFI-GAMA
(
フィーフィーガマ
; Fīfī-gama). As Iheya is to Okinawa (a satellite island), and
Noho is to Iheya (a satellite islet), Fifigama is to Noho (a satellite rock). It's little, only about
250 feet (75 meters) long by 82 (25 meters) wide and it lies 410 feet (125 meters) off the nicest
